A Taiwanese man with eight “wives” and 32 children said last week he was over the moon at the prospect of collecting NT$147,600 (US$4,500) in consumer vouchers. This would make his family the largest beneficiary of the new scheme.
“It seems that my family will benefit the most from the program. I am very grateful, it will help us a lot,” a smiling Liu Ho-mu told local television.
Liu, a self-proclaimed “spiritual teacher,” has for more than 20 years lived with eight women who have borne him 32 children in central Chang-hua county.
PHOTO: AFP
He attracted attention four years ago when women’s rights groups urged prosecutors to look into his multiple relationships, as bigamy is a criminal offense in Taiwan punishable with a maximum five-year prison term.
But Liu has claimed that all his wedding ceremonies were presided over by “gods, ghosts and Buddha” and that he broke no law because he did not officially register any of the relationships as formal marriages.
His 41-member family is entitled to the money under a consumer vouchers scheme unveiled by the government last week in a bid to stimulate spending and boost the economy.
Under the scheme, the country’s 23 million people regardless of age or wealth will be given NT$3,600 Taiwan dollars. The program is expected to cost some NT$82 billion and contribute a 0.64 percent increase to the 2009 GDP, officials said.(AFP)
一名娶了八個老婆、育有三十二名子女的台灣男子上週表示,他非常高興自己有機會領到新台幣十四萬七千六百元(四千五百美元)的消費券。他們一家將是這項新計畫的最大受惠者。
劉和穆笑著對當地電視台記者說:「我們家應該是這個政策的最大受益者。我非常感激,這對我們幫助很大。」
住在中台灣彰化縣、自詡為「心靈導師」的劉先生和八個老婆同住一個屋簷下二十多年,共育有三十二名子女。
四年前,女權團體曾要求檢察官調查他一夫多妻的婚姻關係,因為台灣的刑法規定,重婚依法可處最高五年的有期徒刑。
但劉先生說,他都是在「神、鬼和佛」的見證下完婚的,因為他沒有正式登記結婚,所以並不構成違法行為。
政府上週宣佈,為刺激消費及促進經濟活絡,計畫發放消費券;他家的四十一位成員都可領到這筆錢。
依照該計畫,台灣兩千三百萬人民不論年齡、貧富,都將領到新台幣三千六百元。官員表示,這項計畫預計花費新台幣八百二十億元左右,估計將提高二OO九年的國內生產毛額零點六四個百分點。
(法新社�翻譯:袁星塵)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110