TRAVEL
Japan program to start
From next month, Taiwanese would be able to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks in Japan under a new program introduced by the Japanese government. The program was trialed in February for Taiwanese departing from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Japanese public broadcaster NHK has previously reported that the new preclearance program aimed to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival. The new rules were designed to attract more tourists, it said. The program would initially apply to holders of Taiwanese passports who departed from Taiwan and could be extended to travelers from other places based on results of the pilot program, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
CRIME
Workers released on bail
Five construction workers have been released on bail ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$600,000 following questioning over their roles in a deadly fire at an under-construction PX Mart processing center in Taichung on Thursday, prosecutors said yesterday. The five — an on-site general manager assigned by an air-conditioning company and employees from a construction firm — were among 24 people summoned for questioning on Friday who have been identified as potential defendants, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said. Before the fire started, workers installing air-conditioning piping were allegedly cutting flooring using an oxyacetylene flame without implementing proper fire safety precautions, prosecutors said. Supervisors also failed to enforce safety measures, resulting in sparks igniting polystyrene boards, which caused the fire, prosecutors said. The workers are suspected of offenses including negligent homicide and negligent injury. The blaze claimed nine lives and injured eight. Citing provisions of the Building Act (建築法), the Taichung City Government ordered work to be suspended at the site and fined the contractor and the supervisor. Seven of the people who died were Taiwanese and two were migrant workers, including one undocumented Vietnamese worker, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said.
DIPLOMACY
Paraguay spy case probed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said that it is cooperating with an investigation into a vehicle registered to Huawei Technologies Co that is believed to have surveiled Taiwan’s ambassador in Paraguay. Embassy staff in Asuncion in October reported that people in a parked vehicle appeared to be spying on the residence of Ambassador to Paraguay Jose Han (韓志正). The embassy immediately notified the police, who later said that the vehicle was registered to the Chinese telecommunications firm’s Paraguay office, the ministry said. Paraguayan media reported that the vehicle was parked outside Han’s residence for about two hours, while a man in it photographed Han’s residence and pointed an object at the home that appeared to be an electronic monitoring device, possibly to interfere with or intercept digital signals from the residence. When police arrived and approached the van, the driver immediately sped off, the reports said. The driver was later identified as a 62-year-old Huawei employee named Dionisio Duarte. Paraguayan police said the other person in the van was “a man with oriental features,” Paraguayan media reported.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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