WEATHER
North, center to see rain
Steady rainfall is forecast for northern and central Taiwan today, along with isolated showers in the south, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Weather conditions would become gradually drier tomorrow and on Wednesday, with rain mostly limited to northern and eastern Taiwan, he said. Temperatures would also gradually rebound during that three-day period, as the cold front weakens, Wu said. The weather during the Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day holiday weekend would be “more or less stable,” with clear to mostly cloudy weather and warming temperatures for most of Taiwan, and a chance of isolated showers in the east, he said.
Photo: CNA
TOURISM
Kenting rental to be fined
A guesthouse in Kenting National Park would be fined for contravening price control rules, after an investigation found it increased its room rate by almost 900 percent for dates in early April, when two major festivals are to be held. It is facing fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000 for price gouging, and NT$40,000 for exceeding the allowed room count, authorities said yesterday, citing regulations in the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例). The inspection was conducted following the discovery of an illegal guesthouse in Kenting, which had raised its room rates from NT$895 (US$26.94) to NT$7,980 per night, higher than the approved range for a price hike. The Taiwan Music Festival is to be held in Kenting from April 3 to 5, and overlaps with the national four-day holiday from April 3 to 6 for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival.
CRIME
Rapist handed 22 years
A go tutor has been sentenced to 22 years for molesting 12 children up to 64 times in total. The New Taipei District Court on Wednesday last week found the defendant surnamed Lee (李) guilty of contravening the Criminal Code for molesting children below the age of 14, with the youngest reportedly six years old, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法), and the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) by filming the children as he abused them, it said. The case came to light on Sept. 1 last year, when a victim’s parents reported Lee’s misconduct. He had been operating an unlicensed go classroom where he installed cameras. Authorities inspected the site the following day, seizing video evidence and later identifying 12 people. The New Taipei City Education Department also fined Lee NT$250,000 (US$7,553.55) last year and ordered the immediate closure of his “classroom.”
CINEMA
Film event begins today
The Ministry of Culture and the British Film Institute (BFI) are to host “Myriad Voices: Reframing Taiwan New Cinema” in London from today until April 30. The event would feature 15 films, showcasing works by renowned directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Edward Yang (楊德昌), Wang Toon (王童), Wan Jen (萬仁), Chang Yi (張毅), Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚) and Huang Yu-shan (黃玉珊), the ministry said. Chen and Huang are to attend select screenings to share their insights on Taiwan New Cinema, it added. The Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK said the collaboration with BFI marks a significant milestone and reflects their commitment to fostering cultural exchange through cinema. They said they hope the event raises the profile of Taiwanese films in the UK and help the British gain a better understanding of Taiwanese cinema.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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