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President Ma Ying-jeou said the Vietnamese government must compensate Taiwanese businesses for damage incurred during anti-China riots that swept Vietnam in May. Ma was speaking on Thursday while meeting with Taiwanese businessmen working in Vietnam. He also called for the punishment of rioters and a guarantee that similar incidents will not happen again.
Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC Chinese, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the Vietnamese government has not responded to the needs of Taiwanese companies affected by the riots. Jiang said that Taiwan will take severe measures if Vietnam does not treat the situation seriously.
Back in May, China’s decision to move an oil rig into a disputed area of the South China Sea sparked a wave of anti-China riots in Vietnam. Rioters targeted businesses with Chinese language signs, including a number of Taiwanese businesses.
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An airplane operated by Taiwan-based TransAsia Airways crashed on the outlying island of Penghu on Wednesday, killing 48 people.
The plane was carrying 58 passengers and crew when it crashed into a residential area while landing. In a statement issued Thursday morning, TransAsia confirmed that 48 people died in the crash, including two French nationals. The crash also injured 15 people, including five local residents.
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And finally this past week, The New Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office called for death sentence for Cheng Chieh, the metro stabber. He has been charged with four counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder. Cheng had stabbed 4 people to death and injured 22 others during a random stabbing before rush hour on May 21 on the Taipei Metro. It was the first mass killing in the Taipei Metro’s 18-year history. The prosecutor’s office said on Monday that Cheng’s actions can be classified as mass murder.
During investigation, there were 4 hospital interviews with Cheng and 18 interviews with witnesses. Cheng received a thorough health exam and the hospital has initially concluded he does not have any mental illness that would prevent him from discerning that his behavior was illegal. They’ve also concluded that he is fully capable of standing trial.