AIT encourages US citizens to vote in upcoming election
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is encouraging US citizens to vote in all US elections for which they are eligible. Advanced planning is crucial for overseas voters and now is the time to act. Registration deadlines are approaching fast and there is significant mailing time required for ballots. As a first step, US citizens should visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) interactive Web site, which was designed for overseas voters: www.fvap.gov. Voters can use the FVAP site to print a “Registration/Absentee Ballot Request” form. The FVAP site provides overseas voters with instructions on how to submit the form, as well as complete state-specific instructions, deadlines and addresses. Voters can also use the FVAP site to print out emergency write-in ballots; however, write-in ballots won’t be counted unless the voter previously requested their state’s regular ballot by the deadline. Voters can also write to AIT at VoteTaipei@state.gov with questions.
AIT, Mercedes-Benz co-sponsor amateur jazz competition
All non-professional jazz players under 26 years of age are invited to sign up for an amateur jazz band competition co-sponsored by AIT and Mercedes-Benz on Sunday, Sept. 28. The top prize includes NT$20,000 in cash and a chance to perform at the upcoming Taichung Jazz Festival. The competition will also feature a well-known US jazz musician, Gene Aitken, to be the special judge. The maximum number of players in a band must not exceed eight. Each band will have 20 minutes on stage and must perform at least two to three songs in the first 12 minutes. The registration deadline is Sunday. For further questions, please contact Geddy Lin at geddylin@yahoo.com or visit www.ait.org.tw/en/news/programs/200809.aspx.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)