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The top story from this past week involved a new law that’s gone into effect in Taiwan offering more rights to people who have been arrested or detained. The law allows more people the right to request a hearing on whether or not they should be detained.
The previous law, which was in place for nearly 70 years, only applied to defendants in criminal cases. But the new law applies to foreigners who are residing illegally in Taiwan, military personnel who have been detained, and people with mental disabilities or communicable diseases who have been placed in isolation at a hospital.
Under the new law, if a person is arrested or detained by an organization other than the courts, then he or she or a third party can request a hearing free of charge. The law also mandates that if a request for a hearing is not passed on to the courts, then the government employee who failed to forward the request could face up to three years in prison.
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Also this past week, the most famous piece in the collection of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum is back in Taiwan after going on display in a special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum. It was the first time that the piece – “Jadeite Cabbage with Insects” -- was exhibited oversees.
The piece was only on display in Tokyo for two weeks, but it drew more than 150,000 visitors.
Another prized piece in the National Palace Museum’s collection, the Meat-Shaped Stone, will be shown at the Kyushu National Museum in southern Japan starting on October 7.
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And finally this past week Taiwanese-American NBA star Jeremy Lin has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. ESPN reported on Friday that the Houston Rockets had traded the guard and a future first-round pick to the Lakers. ESPN cited an NBA source, but there was no immediate confirmation of the news.
Rumors about Lin leaving Houston had increased in recent weeks as he was set to enter his third and final year under his current contract with the Rockets.
The report said the Lakers were amenable to the deal partly because Lin was only under contract for one more season, so they would be able to preserve their cap space next summer.
Lin is the first person of Taiwanese descent, and one of the only Harvard graduates to play for the NBA.