SPORTS
ISU apologizes over flag
The International Skating Union (ISU) on Thursday apologized for displaying the flag of Taiwan rather than the “Chinese Taipei” emblem at the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston. The Taiwanese flag was displayed on a video screen behind skater Li Yu-hsiang (李宇翔) when he was introduced ahead of his short program earlier in the day. The TD Garden public address announcer read the apology before the pairs event. “The ISU would like to sincerely apologize for the display of the incorrect flag for Chinese Taipei during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships event today,” it said. “We fully understand the sensitivity of this mistake and deeply regret any offense or confusion this may have caused,” it said. Li finished 30th in the short program.
Photo: AFP
SOCIETY
Actor cancels visit
South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun, known for his role in the My Love From the Star TV series, has canceled his visit to Kaohsiung amid controversy surrounding the death of his former girlfriend, South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron. President Chain Store Corp, the organizer of the Sakura Festival, on Tuesday said that Kim Soo-hyun would not be attending “due to a change in his schedule.” Tomorrow’s event would proceed as planned, except for his scheduled appearance, it said, adding those who purchased tickets for that day can ask for a full refund from 10am on Monday until 11:59pm on April 15. Kim Sae-ron took her own life on Feb. 16, Kim Soo-hyun’s birthday. South Korean media reported that Kim Sae-ron’s parents claimed Kim Soo-hyun, who is about 12 years older than their daughter, had been in a six-year relationship with her, beginning when she was 15. Kim Sae-ron later signed with Gold Medalist, an agency that also represents Kim Soo-hyun, the reports said. Her parents alleged that the agency mishandled their daughter’s affairs, the reports said. On March 14, Gold Medalist said that the two had been in a relationship, but added that they only began dating when Kim Sae-ron was an adult.
CRIME
Man indicted after fall
A man in his 70s, surnamed Lin (林), has been charged with murder after his wife fell to her death from a 14th-floor living room window on Dec. 9 last year, the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office said on Thursday. Lin is suspected of pushing his wife out of a window of their apartment, prosecutors said, adding that his wife, who was in her 60s and had been bedridden due to hydrocephalus — a buildup of fluid in the brain — fell to her death. Lin turned himself in later that day and the New Taipei City District Court granted a motion by prosecutors to detain him. The New Taipei City Social Welfare Department said there was no record of domestic abuse. Prosecutors on Tuesday said that Lin had intended to kill his wife.
SOCIETY
Daycare center fined
A Hsinchu City daycare center would be fined NT$240,000 and its public subsidies ended following the death of a baby this week, the city government said on Thursday. The four-month-old girl asphyxiated on March 11 while sleeping at a government-subsidized daycare center and was pronounced dead on Monday after being sent to a hospital, Hsinchu City Councilor Liu Yen-ling (劉彥伶) said. The Hsinchu Department of Social Affairs had conducted an inspection of the daycare center and held a special inquiry on Tuesday to assess the incident.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
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