Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) must enlist in the military by Thursday next week and serve for one year, the Department of Compulsory Military Service said today, as he is investigated for illegally evading service.
The actor would be allowed to request time off from the military if he is summoned to court regarding ongoing investigations, the department said.
Wang is under investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
He has already received a conscription notice, the department said.
Without the relevant requests from judicial authorities, Wang does not qualify to postpone his service and must report at the time and place specified in the notice, it said.
Wang must first report for training at the Chenggong Ling (成功嶺) military training camp, it added.
According to regulations, Wang is required to serve in the military for one year as a Taiwanese man born before Dec. 31, 1993, the department said.
Separately, the New Taipei District Court set Wang’s bail at NT$5 million (US$152,160) this morning after he was detained yesterday for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver.
Wang ordered a taxi earlier last year and was dissatisfied with the vehicle’s quality and the driver’s service, police said.
Wang instructed a friend, surnamed Yu (游), to assault the driver, who was allegedly severely beaten, police said, recommending charges of attempted murder.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with