FAKE US$100 BILLS: Because of the sophisticated technology used, the CIB invited a US Secret Service specialist in counterfeit money to examine the forged banknotes

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 07, 2019
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office

yesterday announced that they had broken up a counterfeiting ring, detained five suspects and seized forged US currency which had reportedly fooled some local banks.

Raids carried out over the past month had seized a total of US$11.04 million in counterfeit US$100 bills, making it one of the largest forgery cases in the nation’s history, CIB investigator Hsu Chao-pin (徐釗斌) said.

The forged notes were of high quality, with the smaller detectors used in some local banks indicating they were authentic, although the bills could not trick larger, standard detectors, CIB Forensic Examination Division head Yeh Chia-yu (葉家瑜) said.

Because of the sophisticated printing and engraving technology used, the bureau invited a US Secret Service specialist in counterfeit money to travel to Taiwan from Hong Kong to examine the forged notes, Yeh said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 05 December, 2019
By: Paula Chao
 

For some, this question is a constant source of anxiety. Yet others are unfazed. This week, find out why Taiwan has doubled it’s presidential protection and is concerned about a “decapitation” of the nation’s central command. Natalie Tso talks with a defense expert, Tamkang University Professor Alexander Huang, to find out why the military is beefing up its hardware.    [FULL  STORY]

 

 

Although the Taiwanese government has offered to compensate the Taos for the nuclear waste disposal, the debate on whether to go nuclear-free will persist beyond 2020.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/05
By: Syrena Lin

An indigenous group on Orchid Island (Lanyu) would receive NT$2.55 billion in compensation after investigation revealed that the nuclear waste disposal facility on the island was built without the residents’ consent.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended a press conference in Taitung and apologized to the Tao community, after having done so in 2016.

“The investigation discovered the truth, and the compensation fulfills part of the government’s transitional justice for indigenous people,” Tsai said.

The Executive Yuan has exhibited declassified historical documents, showing former premiers Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Sun Yun-hsuan (孫運璿) had approved plans to build the facility and store nuclear waste on Lanyu in the 1970s.    [FULL  STORY]

1 of the officers accused claims alleged sexual assault against Taiwanese woman was 'cultural misunderstanding'

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two officers from Taiwan's diplomatic ally Honduras who have been studying at National Defense University (NDU) are facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a Taiwanese woman in Taipei, but one of the men claims it was a "cultural misunderstanding."

According to local media reports, a Honduran military officer surnamed Mondragon (Chinese surname 孟達貢) first arrived in Taiwan to begin studies at NDU in 2015, when he received high praise for his Chinese skills. However, on Tuesday (Dec. 3), he and his Honduran cohort at the university, surnamed Lopez (Chinese surname 羅培茲), were transferred to the Taipei District Prosector's Office to be investigated for sexual assault before being released, reported SET News.

The two men had allegedly met the woman through an online dating app and agreed to first meet in person at a hamburger shop. The three then agreed to go to a love hotel in Taipei's Wanhua District, home to one of the city's main red light districts, reported Apple Daily.

The men claim that Mondragon first engaged in consensual sex with the woman before asking her if Lopez could participate. Lopez claims that he was not interested and that he abstained from having intercourse with the woman, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/05
By: Tang Pei-chun and Ko Lin

Brussels, Dec. 4 (CNA) The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution on its annual foreign and security policy, part of which highlighted the European Union's (EU) support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations and activities.

In the annual resolution assessing the EU's common foreign and security policy, known as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the committee noted that the strengthening of relations with East and Southeast Asia was vital to the "EU's rules-based, comprehensive and sustainable connectivity strategy and vice versa." The resolution will be voted on by the European Parliament in January.

It also mentioned the military build-up in the region and called for all parties involved to respect freedom of navigation, to solve differences through peaceful means and refrain from taking actions to change the status quo, including in the East China and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait.

Part of the policy also highlighted the committee's concerns over Taiwan's upcoming presidential and legislative elections in January, noting that "foreign interferences from autocratic regimes through disinformation and cyber-attacks on the upcoming general elections threaten Asian democracies and regional stability."    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 06, 2019
By: Lu Yi-hsuan  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed reports that eight Taiwanese women who last year

traveled to Australia on working holiday visas were forced to perform sexual favors for their employer.

In a report published in October titled Slavery and Slavery-like Practices in South Australia: A Report, Flinders University associate professor Marinella Marmo cited an anonymous representative of Australia’s National Union of Workers as saying that eight Taiwanese women on working holiday visas in South Australia’s Riverland region were “expected to, if they wanted to get to work, so they could afford to pay for all these other things, perform sexual favors to get more hours.”

They were “in that environment for quite some time before they were able to speak up, for six months,” the report said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 04 December, 2019
By: Shirley Lin

Representatives from ten ministries and commissions met at the Legislature Wednesday to report on what they are doing to stop Chinese interference in the 2020 election.

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong says that China is pushing Taiwan to accept its “One Country, Two Systems” formula.    [FULL  STORY]

The Living Mall finally turns its lights off after 18 years and multiple failed auctions.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/04
By: Pierre-Louis Anceau

The Living Mall (京華城), also known as the Core Pacific City, the sphere-shaped mall in Songshan district, was shut down on Saturday, November 30. The mall, auctioned for NT$38 billion earlier this year, will be destroyed and replaced with office buildings.

Ironically, given its name, the attendance at the mall had been low for years, so in a world ruled by profit, this news doesn’t come as a surprise. And yet one could argue that such buildings are part of our history and argue for the need to preserve them.

The mall was the epitome of weirdness. From the outside, the giant 11-story granite ball seemed like it was going to roll onto the city at any given time. The inside was incredibly well designed, with its giant ceiling, natural lighting, and purposefully complex floor plan. The interior design, on the other hand, was baffling, with tacky decorations, mismatched floor tiles, amusement park-style fake rocks.

Suffice to say, the building had a lot of personalities. Judging by the Google reviews, people thought of it either as an odd outdated place or as the coolest place in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]

Police nab 2 men, seize machine gun, pistols from underground gambling den disguised as car wash in Taoyuan, Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/04
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police arrested two men and seized a submachine gun and three pistols during a raid on an underground gambling den disguised as an auto repair shop and carwash in northern Taiwan over the weekend.

During a raid on an underground casino in Taoyuan, Taiwan, a special task force of Miaoli County and Taoyuan City police units apprehended a 23-year-old man surnamed Lin (林) and a 22-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) for possessing four illegal firearms. One of the weapons seized was a Floro Mk. 9, a submachine gun used by Taiwan's special forces, reported UDN.

On Tuesday (Dec. 3), the Miaoli County Police Bureau announced the Criminal Investigation Division officers suspected that Lin and Chen had been trafficking illegal guns and drugs and running a gambling operation. After surveilling Lin and Chen, officers tracked them to a two-story luxury imported car repair shop and car wash which they suspected housed an underground casino.

On Sunday (Dec. 1), the Miaoli County Police Bureau dispatched a special police unit armed with Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns. Officers used a special new battering ram to break down the shop's metal door.    [FULL  STORY]