■ Movies
GIO unveils promotional film
The Government Information Office (GIO) unveiled a short film yesterday as part of its efforts to revive the sagging local movie industry. In the short film, titled Taiwan Film Anna, GIO Director-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) plays a "Dragon Brother" trying hard to please "Taiwan Film Anna," who is played by a fashion model, to symbolize the government's strenuous efforts at revitalizing the sagging movie industry. Lin said at the presentation that it took six hours for him to shoot the six scenes in the film. "My acting skills are lousy, but I thought my appearance might be humorous and thus help raise local people's concern for our movie industry," Lin said. Since Lin assumed his current post, the GIO has formed a special commission to review the government's policy regarding the local film industry and to work out measures to remove any obstacles to the development of the industry.
■ Politics
Candidate walking for votes
Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU, 無黨團結聯盟) legislative candidate Lin Ming-yi (林明義) hit the road yesterday for a 16-day walk around Yunlin County to drum up support prior to the legislative elections. Lin, who joined the NPSU in recent months after having a falling out with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was accompanied by his mother, NPSU Chairwoman Chang Po-ya (張博雅), NPSU Secretary-General Chen Chieh-ju and supporters at a ceremony marking the beginning of his trek. He is scheduled to walk across all 20 cities, townships and rural townships around Yunlin County over the next 16 days. Lin said that he will walk around the county to help raise Yunlin residents' political awareness and bring them "out of the darkness and deception" which he claimed has long clouded politics in the region. Lin, who had been a KMT legislator for three terms before 2001, is the only candidate that the newly-established NPSU is fielding in Yunlin County.
■ Television
TV festival held in Taipei
The 2004 Taipei TV Festival opened at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall yesterday. The exhibition features a "TV Mall" section for ordinary visitors, which runs through Sunday, and a "TV Market" section for professionals, which will run from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30. The "TV Mall" has gathered 38 exhibitors with a total of 271 booths. A variety of themes are covered, including frequency platforms, TV shopping, home appliances, digital multi-media, audio/video publications, cartoons and digital content value-added applications. The "TV Market" will feature 93 exhibitors with a total of 268 booths.
■ Diplomacy
Officials invited
Representatives from several Latin American countries are expected to visit Taiwan next month, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Ho Ching-shan (侯清山), director-general of the ministry's Central and South American Affairs Department, said Taiwan has invited officials from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Paraguay. Foreign dignitaries who have promised to visit include Salvadoran Econo-mics Minister Yolanda Mayora de Gavidia, Guatemalan Economics Minister Marcio Cuevas, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Marcial Bobadilla Guillen, and Dominican Presidential Office Secretary-General Danilo Medina Sanchez. Most of the scheduled visits are for the purpose of discussing economic affairs.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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