Wed, May 08, 2024
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20.Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his in
‘DIGITAL SOLIDARITY’: Taiwan, the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are to install and operate a cable that would connect up to 100,000 people in the Pacific Islands Taiwan, the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are working together to install undersea cables as a demonstration of digital solidarity, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.Blinken talked about the cooperation in a speech he delivered at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.He said
The Presidential Office yesterday remained mum about whether President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) plans to pardon former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) after a Chinese-language magazine reported that she would do so before her term ends on May 20.“The Presidential Office’s current position is still to ensur
Australia yesterday chastised China over its “unacceptable” behavior in international airspace, accusing a Chinese warplane of firing flares in the path of one of its navy helicopters.A Chinese fighter jet “intercepted” the Seahawk helicopter as it flew a UN sanctions surveillance mission above the
Israeli tanks yesterday seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.The UN warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Pales
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges.“Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadershi
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) for making false allegations about donations to Ukraine and disclosing confidential documents, with the ministry saying that it would take legal action
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year.The
‘MY SECOND HOME’: The foreign ministry film tells a story from the perspective of an Indonesian mother after her child received a liver transplant in Taiwan The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday released a short film as it petitioned the international community to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), which is scheduled for later this month.My Second Home (第二次出生) solicits international support for Taiwan’s inclusion in t
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety.The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Admi
Germany sent two warships to the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday in a bid to strengthen its military presence in the region amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea.Those tensions were putting pressure on the freedom of navigation and free passage on trade r
A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday congratulated the Solomon Islands, a former diplomatic ally of Taiwan, on its election of a new prime minister last week.The government is open to exploring any possibility of future cooperation with the ex-ally, as it is with any Pacific count
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday rejected a bill to advance the government’s nominations of four new members of the National Communications Commission (NCC).All nine KMT members of the legislature’s Procedure Committee voted against scheduling floor time to consider the nomination
POSSIBLE CAUSE: The mother had eaten salads and precut fruit, which the bacteria can be found on, but people with healthy immune systems usually have mild symptoms This year’s first instance of vertical transmission of Listeria monocytogenes (listeria) from a mother to her newborn was reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, urging expectant mothers to avoid high-risk foods.The mother was 34 weeks pregnant in mid-April when she
RAISING AWARENESS: The city’s health department is to invite experts to hold lectures at junior-high schools from this month, before vaccinations start in the new school year From Sept. 1, eighth-grade boys, as well as girls, are to be eligible for free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.The Taipei Department of Health in December last year announced a plan to expand vaccine eligibility to boys this year.Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan
Two Taipei restaurants have been cleared to resume operations after samples obtained from them showed no trace of norovirus, a virus found in some people who fell ill after dining at the two eateries early last month, the Taipei Department of Health announced on Monday.Eighteen samples obtained on A
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.The slowdown bucked predi
GROWING MARKET: The announcement was the US company’s latest move to build cloud infrastructure in the region, after investments in Thailand and Malaysia Amazon.com Inc plans to spend S$12 billion (US$8.86 billion) over the next four years to expand its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore, Amazon Web Services (AWS) said yesterday.The investment adds to the S$11.5 billion the company has already invested in the Asia-Pacific region until last y
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) techno
Although the presidency did not change hands in January, the electorate expressed its discontent with the ruling party by ending its majority in the legislature. Yet at the same time, it did not see fit to hand the traditional opposition a majority in its own right, resulting in a split chamber. Wit
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Con
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has proposed amendments to the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) that would put the brakes on pension reform progress. On April 12, legislators voted on the KMT’s motion to review its draft amendments. The KMT and the D
With the release of the latest table tennis mixed-doubles rankings on Tuesday, Taiwan is guaranteed participation in all five table tennis disciplines at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.On Tuesday, after losing to French opponents Alexis Lebrun and Yuan Jianan (袁嘉楠) at the World Table Tennis Saudi
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory.The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over t
Kyren Wilson on Monday held his nerve as he overcame an impressive fightback from qualifier Zak Jones to win his first World Snooker Championship title.A clearly emotional Wilson eventually triumphed 18-14 in the final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in northern England, but only after Jones, who lo
For the rest of his life, Crew Corbett Carlo can celebrate his birthday with the knowledge that on the day he was born his father scored a playoff goal.It is a memory Brandon Carlo would never forget.The Boston defenseman was not with his team on Monday morning for an excellent reason — his wife May
CUSTOMS DUTIES: France’s cognac industry was closely watching the talks, fearing that an anti-dumping investigation opened by China is retaliation for trade tensions French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees, seeking to press a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade.The first day of Xi’s state visit to France, his f
OMAHA BEACH HERO: Charles Shay was awarded the Silver Star for repeatedly plunging into the sea and carrying critically wounded soldiers to relative safety On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old US Army medic who was ready to give his life — and save as many as he could. Now 99, he is spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he is about to take part in the 80th anniversary commemorations of the landings in Normandy that led to the lib
The New York judge presiding over former US president Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial on Monday threatened Trump with jail time if he committed another breach of his gag order.Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a US$130,000 payme
Standardized shipping containers arrive in and leave from Taiwan in vast numbers. In 2021, Kaohsiung — the country’s busiest port — handled 9.86 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).Almost all of these rectangular boxes are 6.1 or 12.2m (20 or 40 feet) long, 2.44m (8 feet) wide and either 2.59m (
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Ta
The worsening rivalry between the world’s two most powerful countries that has in recent years spread across the world, has now extended beyond the terrestrial, into the realms of the celestial.As China has become deeply enmeshed in strategic competition with the US — while edging towards outright h
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by desc
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process.In
對話 Dialogue清清:華華,你在聽音樂啊?今天怎麼這麼輕鬆?Qīngqing: Huáhua, nǐ zài tīng yīnyuè a? Jīntiān zěnme zhème qīngsōng?華華:我在聽周杰倫的歌,「聽媽媽的話,別讓她受傷……」。Huáhua: Wǒ zài tīng Zhōu Jiélún de gē, “tīng māma dehuà, bié ràng tā shòushāng……”.清清:這首很難欸!好聽是好聽,但我都跟不上節奏,只會唱副歌。Qīngqing: Zhè shǒu hěn nán ei! Hǎotīng shì hǎotīng, dàn w
It’s certainly been a pleasure watching the presidential campaign launch of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) lurch painfully about like a wounded pachyderm in search of an elephant graveyard. Hou’s fall to third place in some polls last week appears early, and it might still be recoverable. But grumbling in his party about replacing him has already begun. Indeed, all indications are that the party that twice gave us Lien Chan (連戰), the most despised politician in Taiwan, as a presidential candidate and later offered voters Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), is arcing along its normal descending trajectory, the North Korean missile test of electoral politics. A KIND OF POLICY PLATFORM Last week the KMT doubled down on this path with Hou’s calls for nuclear power and more death penalty executions, standard KMT fare for decades (the latter is unnecessary since so many potential criminals are likely to die in traffic accidents long before they harm anyone). Apparently KMT policy institutions are not echo chambers so much as mausoleums where dead ideas are embalmed and then periodically put on display. The lack of public policy imagination is obvious. A less obvious facet of KMT ineptitude: with years of speculation that Hou would be their man in 2024, neither Hou nor the party insisted on interesting or experimental public policies to showcase Hou’s greatness in preparation for the showdown. Of course, that is even more true of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Hou’s slide and the media buzz surrounding it are obscuring the truly urgent problem the pro-Taiwan side faces: DPP presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) has not expanded his voter support beyond the party base. In most polls he remains below 40 percent. Independent voters are staying away in droves, and for the moment the young are turning to
July 17 to July 23 When Yeh Ken-chuang (葉根壯) came of age, the traditional skills of architecture and carpentry that had been in his family for four generations were disappearing. After helping his uncle Yeh Teh-ling (葉得令) construct ships, residences and temples for more than a decade, Yeh struck out on his own at the age of 28 in 1960 as a damusi (大木司, chief carpenter), earning his lifelong title “Chief Chuang” (壯司). Around this time, builders in his homeland of Penghu were increasingly using reinforced concrete instead of wood, due to the humid climate. The period also saw a frenzy in temple construction as the economy improved, meaning there was plenty of work for Yeh. Adept in non-structural techniques such as doors, windows and furniture, as well as the intricate carvings and detailed decorations that adorned the structures, Yeh was able to adapt his skills, leading the reconstruction of the historic Hsiliao Daitian Temple (西寮代天宮) on Penghu’s main island in 1963. According to the book Crossing Traditions in Yeh Ken-chuang’s Large-scale Carpentry Skills (宮廟巧藝 :跨越傳統的葉根壯大木作技術), it was Penghu’s first temple that used a purely reinforced concrete structure. Before his life was cut short, Yeh created more than 70 temples and related structures across the various islands of Penghu and left behind more than 230 building plans. Although Yeh could have built temples and other structures on Taiwan proper, he only worked on a handful of projects outside of Penghu because he wanted to be close to his family. CLAN OF CARPENTERS The Yeh family’s woodworking tradition began with Yeh Ma-li (葉媽利), who learned the architecture and carpentry trade from an unknown master on Kinmen. The Yehs trace their roots to Kinmen, although this branch had been living in Penghu since the early 1600s. Yeh Ma-li was Penghu’s chief temple builder between 1860 and
New Taipei City | 14-23 | 10% | |
Hsinchu County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hsinchu City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Taipei City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Miaoli County | 12-22 | 10% | |
Taoyuan City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Keelung City | 15-21 | 10% |
Yunlin County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Taichung City | 14-24 | 0% | |
Nantou County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Changhua County | 14-23 | 0% |
Chiayi County | 13-24 | 0% | |
Chiayi City | 14-25 | 0% | |
Tainan City | 15-22 | 0% | |
Kaohsiung City | 17-23 | 0% | |
Pingtung County | 16-25 | 0% |
Yilan County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hualien County | 16-22 | 10% | |
Taitung County | 17-23 | 10% |
Kinmen County | 11-18 | 0% | |
Penghu County | 17-20 | 0% | |
Lienchiang County | 10-13 | 10% |