Tainan junior college student Chen Chien-ta inexplicably disappeared without a trace 16 years ago, after which nothing more was heard of him for many years. Chen’s parents felt deeply grieved to receive Chen’s national service call-up papers year after year.
On learning of this missing person case in November last year, Tsai Shu-nu, a missing persons expert at New Taipei City Police Department’s Haishan Bureau, acting on her own initiative, located the case of an unidentified body that had been discovered underneath Fushuei Bridge in Syuejia Township, Tainan County on July 26 of the same year. Suspecting that it was Chen, Tsai obtained from the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office a photo that had been taken of the unidentified body when it was found. Tsai showed the photo to Chen’s mother to see whether she could identify it, and the mother tentatively thought it could be her son. Tsai again coordinated with prosecutors to obtain a court order, and in March this year they opened the coffin and took out a rib and thighbone, which were then sent to the Ministry of Justice Institute of Forensic Medicine for DNA testing along with biological specimens from Chen’s parents and sister.
However, nine separate verification tests were unable to match the DNA. Tsai then asked Chen’s father to call on his son’s departed spirit during prayers at the Tomb Sweeping Festival, saying “If you want to come home, please give your blessings for a DNA match.” Strange as it may seem, the 10th DNA test produced a match that confirmed the parent-son relationship.
Photo: Wu Jen-chieh, Liberty Times, courtesy of the Goodwill Charity Association
照片:自由時報記者吳仁捷翻攝
On May 9, Kuo Chih-hsiang, director of the Goodwill Charity Association, together with more than 20 volunteers, followed Tainan’s customary way of luring back the spirit of the deceased. They then collected the bones and chose an auspicious date for taking the remains and laying them to rest in a memorial pagoda.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
台南市大專生陳建達十六年前無故失蹤,多年來毫無音訊,雙親每年接到兵單,哀慟不已。
新北市警局海山分局尋人高手蔡淑女去年十一月發現這起失蹤案,主動找出同年七月二十六日在台南學甲浮水橋下發現的無名屍,懷疑為陳建達,向台南地檢署調出當年照片給陳母指認,初步認為可能是陳建達;蔡淑女再協調檢方開庭,今年三月開棺取出肋骨、股骨,連同陳家雙親、胞姊生物檢體,都送往法務部法醫研究所比對DNA。
但經九次比對,都無法比出,直到蔡淑女要陳父在清明節祭拜時,對空呼請愛子亡靈,表示「你如果想回家,就庇佑DNA能比出」;說也奇妙,第十次竟比中、確認親子關係。
善願愛心協會會長郭志祥五月九日與二十多名志工,依台南習俗,替亡者引魂、撿骨,擇日進塔。
(自由時報記者吳仁捷)
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