China is inviting Taiwanese women to compete in its Miss China beauty pageant, but the nation's top beauties aren't interested in the contest, which requires them to "passionately love the motherland" and "support the Communist Party," a newspaper reported yesterday.
The reigning Miss Taiwan, Liu An-na (
"I very passionately love Taiwan," the newspaper quoted Liu as saying. "Why would I have to endorse the Communist Party and the motherland. There's no way I could participate."
The newspaper said that women from Hong Kong and Macau have also been invited to compete in the contest. Another Taiwanese, Beverly Chen (陳思羽), who represented Taiwan in last June's Miss Universe contest in Panama, said she doesn't plan to compete, the newspaper said.
"I have no desire to participate. I'll let someone else have the opportunity," she was quoted as saying.
Chen got caught up in the China-Taiwan rivalry during the Miss Universe contest when China pressured the organizers to insist that she not wear her "Miss Taiwan" sash on stage. She was forced to wear a sash that said "Miss Chinese Taipei," the title the country uses in the Olympics.
Chen told reporters in Panama that there were no hard feelings between her and the Miss China contestant, Wei Wu (
For decades, China refused to hold beauty pageants or send contestants to the major competitions, such as Miss Universe. But last year, China sent its first delegate to the Miss Universe pageant in 51 years.
This year, China plans to host the Miss World contest on Dec. 6 in the city of Sanya on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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