Taipei Times
Date: Apr 20, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday proposed amendments to the

Criminal Code to extend the government’s jurisdiction over criminal offenses committed abroad amid alleged international telephone fraud involving Taiwanese overseas, while the party urged China to share evidence to facilitate a joint criminal investigation.

The party plans to revise Article 7 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that the code applies where Taiwanese commit an offense abroad that is punishable by more than three years in prison.

The party proposed to drop the three-year minimum prison term as a requisite for the code’s application.

“The revision will no longer limit the application of the Criminal Code to serious offenses, but the code would apply where an offense committed abroad is punishable by local laws. That would provide legal grounds for Taiwan to request extradition or international judicial cooperation in cases involving Taiwanese, regardless of the severity of offense,” NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said. “Criminal investigations can be improved only if judicial jurisdiction can be maintained. Only by doing this can we crack down on telephone fraud rings.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-19
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Australia detained two Taiwanese suspects of a

telecom fraud ring while Vietnam arrested six Taiwanese nationals in a completely separate investigation, reports said Tuesday.

Previous groups detained in Kenya and Malaysia faced deportation to China, causing a major crisis in cross-straits relations. Taiwan succeeded in persuading Malaysia to send the alleged scammers home, where they were immediately freed on arrival. A delegation headed by the Ministry of Justice is leaving for China on Wednesday to discuss those who were sent to Beijing from Kenya.

The Australian police in Brisbane reportedly uncovered a Taiwanese-led fraud ring last August. Two Taiwanese citizens were accused of keeping up to 19 fellow countrymen in servitude and forcing them to conduct telecom scams against people in China, reports said. After their working visas were suspended, they were allowed to return home last August, but the two ring leaders were still being held, reports said.

In the other case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Vietnamese authorities detained six Taiwanese and several Vietnamese citizens who defrauded about a dozen people of a total of about NT$8.25 million (US$250,000). The victims were all Vietnamese, reports said, meaning the alleged perpetrators are unlikely to face deportation to China.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: April 19, 2016

Wei Wu Ying Center for the Arts in Kaohsiung City is set for completion in June,

sowing the seeds for the rise of southern Taiwan as a hub of performing arts in Asia.

Designed by internationally renowned Mecanoo Architecten b.v., a Netherlands-based architecture and planning company led by Francine M. J. Houben, the world-class performance center is set to open in 2017. It incorporates flowing lines and blends seamlessly with the many banyan trees dotting the 65-hectare site.

The center boasts 141,000 square meters of floor space, a central theater seating 2,260, a medium-sized auditorium accommodating 1,254, a concert hall for 2,000 and a recital hall holding 470. Other facilities include an outdoor plaza and a rooftop promenade.

During an inspection tour of the NT$10.6 billion (US$327.4 million) project April 17, President Ma Ying-jeou said the center highlights the commitment of the government to vitalizing the southern Taiwan cultural scene, as well as promoting balanced regional development.     [FULL  STORY]