09.20.111 "Read the News" — A Quick Overview of the Day's Focus Issues

September 20, ROC Year 111 (2022 AD): a daily real-time online roundup of hot focus topics from global news events, covering technology, life, travel, transportation, industry and finance, business, companies and enterprises, stocks, foreign exchange markets, investment, real estate, automobiles, real-time news, art, design, politics, society, Taiwan, mainland China, cross-strait relations, weather, natural disasters, current affairs, and many other dimensions of intelligence.

The “Read the News” section collects the headline events and brief summaries of the most important key news from around the world that deserve your attention in recent days, letting you see the real-time context of society through the flow of news events listed quickly one by one.

Focus Issues of September 20, 2022

• International and Social Focus
• Science and Technology
• Business and Investment
• Nature and Medicine
• Travel and Leisure

International and Social Events

On the 14th, a stalking-and-harassment murder case occurred at Seoul’s Sindang Station in South Korea. A 28-year-old female station employee, Ms. A, was stalked by her 31-year-old former colleague Jeon Ju-hwan while on patrol, and when she entered the women’s restroom, she was ambushed by Jeon, who had been waiting for a long time, and was slashed to death with a knife. Ms. A had long been harassed by Jeon through messages, stalking, and secret photography, so she angrily filed a lawsuit — only to have this make Jeon dissatisfied and thus plot the murder. Afterward, police charged Jeon with the heavier “retaliatory murder” offense and released Jeon’s photo and information.

The U.S. Pentagon decided to move Taiwan affairs out of the East Asia office and transfer it to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chase, who handles China affairs. Yen Chen-sheng, a researcher at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, said this move also highlights the weakening of Taiwan’s role under current U.S.-China relations. He agrees that the past “U.S.-China-Taiwan triangular relationship” has gradually turned into only a “U.S.-China relationship.” Under the current U.S.-China competition framework, what can be seen is that the military risk in the Taiwan Strait is rising, and Taiwan should also more actively face this risk.

Former Interior Minister Lee Hong-yuan, at noon today (19th), accepted an exclusive interview with Huang Guang-qin, host of Zhen Media’s “News Without Celery.” Regarding the ceiling of the badminton court at the Bade National Sports Center in Taoyuan collapsing severely due to the earthquake, injuring one person, Lee Hong-yuan revealed that in the public works bid management system, all bid information related to the Bade National Sports Center in Taoyuan had been taken down and could not be seen. He found it puzzling — just like former Health Minister Chen Shih-chung’s vaccine procurement, all of it is public information and there is nothing that cannot be checked.

Science and Technology

A 34-year-old engineer surnamed Wu was recruited by a fraud group and was responsible for writing the source code for phishing websites and an SMS interception system app, impersonating official websites such as the “Bangkok Civil Court of Thailand,” the “Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China,” and the “Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam.” When victims entered the fake app, they were induced to click on the phishing program to steal personal information, and then defrauded using fake prosecutor and police tactics. Preliminary investigation found victims in Thailand, China, and elsewhere, with fraud exceeding ten million. After receiving a report from an overseas liaison officer, the Criminal Investigation Bureau tracked down Wu and four others in Taichung City, and after questioning transferred them to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of fraud and unauthorized computer use.

Business and Investment

Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport’s Taichung Xitun Station recently received a complaint. A male high school student passenger accused the driver of dangerous driving and filmed a video, demanding the bus company fire the driver and also asking whether Kuo-Kuang would be willing to “buy the video for 100,000.” After this news came to light, it sparked condemnation from netizens. The person involved issued a statement today, emphasizing that he was “inexperienced in the world and immature in his concept of money,” and apologized for the behavior.

The European Commission took action against Hungary, freezing 7.5 billion euros (about NT$234.8 billion) of EU funds on grounds of corruption and democratic backsliding. The EU said it would give Hungary time to improve, with a deadline of November 19. Hungary has already made a total of 17 anti-corruption commitments to the EU and claims it will fulfill them.

German auto giant Volkswagen announced on Sunday (18th) that it plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) for its sports car brand Porsche, with preferred shares priced at 76.5 to 82.5 euros per share (about NT$2,378 to NT$2,564), equivalent to a market value of 70 billion to 75 billion euros (about NT$2.18 trillion to NT$2.33 trillion).

Nature and Medicine

Scholars from the United States, Italy, and Israel found that Facebook use is directly related to the “worsening” of anxiety and depression among college students. The study, published in the American Economic Review, found that in the first two and a half years after the platform appeared, college students who opened accounts had a 7% higher likelihood of developing depression and a 20% higher likelihood of developing anxiety.

Travel and Leisure

The northeast monsoon will strengthen tomorrow (20th), with scattered brief showers in the north, while central and southern Taiwan and the Hualien-Taitung area will see brief afternoon thunderstorms. It will be cool in the mornings and evenings, with a larger day-night temperature difference. People in the north and northeast should remember to put on a light jacket for warmth when going out. If going to the beach, pay attention to safety — sea winds and waves are beginning to strengthen, and long waves will appear along the coast.