The last time Taiwanese students mobilized en masse, they brought about an end to decades of martial rule. Now, they are scenting victory in a new battle for the island’s soul as they repel government plans to embrace China ever closer.
For both sides, the debate about strengthening trade ties with the giant superpower is an existential one. President Ma Ying-jeou says that without his mooted pact in services, the economy of heavily export-reliant Taiwan risks sliding into irrelevancy.
For the students, however, Ma is selling their homeland cheaply to a bullying neighbor that still regards Taiwan as its rightful property. After ending a three-week occupation of parliament late night on April 10, they threatened more “comprehensive” action unless their demands are met.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
“Whatever the fate of the agreement, the movement itself is already a setback to Ma’s cross-strait policies,” political scientist George Tsai of the Chinese Culture University in Taipei told AFP.
“From now on, any government measures relating to the Chinese mainland are set to be scrutinized and held up to the strictest standards,” he said.
(AFP)
上次台灣學生的全體動員,為數十年的戒嚴統治劃下句點。現在,他們奮力擊退政府進一步深入中國懷抱的計畫,在捍衛島國靈魂的新戰場上勝利在望。
對雙方來說,加強與幅員遼闊的中國強權貿易連結的爭論,是一場涉及台灣存在本質的鬥爭。馬英九說,缺少這項尚未通過的服務貿易協議,將讓十分仰賴出口的台灣經濟陷入邊緣化。
然而,對學生來說,馬英九正將家園廉價賣給惡鄰中國,後者依舊將台灣視為其合法所有。在四月十日晚間結束長達三週的立法院佔領後,他們威脅,若未達成他們的要求,將採取更大規模的手段。
台北的中國文化大學政治學者蔡瑋告訴法新社:「不管這份協議的命運為何,這場運動本身,已經挫敗了馬英九的兩岸政策。」
他說:「從現在開始,政府任何有關中國大陸的議案勢必都會受到檢視,而且是以最嚴格的標準。」
(法新社/翻譯:陳伃軒)
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
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
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)
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into