■ Festivals
Beef noodles on wheels
To compete with street vendors selling coffee or breakfast from their vans, the organizer of the 2005 Beef Noodle Festival adopted the idea of doing business on the move by refitting a van into a vehicle that can serve beef soup. Starting today through Thursday, the van, loaded with four thermos flasks, will put up posters featuring the 2005 Beef Noodle Festival while cruising the thoroughfares of Taipei City, giving away beef soup for free during the day. It will be stationed in the Living Mall and the square in front of the Taipei City Hall after 5pm.
■ Community
Volunteers clean up
Over 70,000 volunteers from 320 organizations around Taiwan, equipped with brooms, tongs and garbage bags, joined the largest "clean up the island" campaign in five years that yesterday simultaneously kicked off at 1,598 spots around the nation. Groups of volunteer workers picked up waste along the Keelung River in Taipei City and sorted it for recycling. A team of around 30 college students in northern Taiwan caught the most attention as all its members roller-skated along the bicycle track along the river at the Pailing Riverbank Park (百齡河濱公園), showing of dazzling skating skills while performing the public service. The campaign was run from Paisha Bay (白沙灣) in Taipei County in the north to Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園) in the south, Tungying (東引) on the outlying island of Matsu (馬祖) in the west and Lungtung (龍洞) in the east, according to the organizers.
■ Diplomacy
Soong no messenger
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has never asked opposition People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to pass on any messages to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), a Presidential Office spokesman said over the weekend. James Huang (黃志芳) a Presidential Office deputy secretary-general, made the remarks after James Keith, a US State Department senior adviser, said that Soong met Hu and other Chinese leaders in Beijing on May 12 this year and passed on the message that Chen was willing to engage in dialogue with Beijing, using a flexible formulation about what constitutes "one China." Huang said that he didn't know where the US State Department got its information from and that the State Department has not contacted the Presidential Office regarding the matter. One thing is certain, however, and that is that Chen has never asked Soong to give any messages to the Chinese leadership, Huang said.
■ Politics
No apologies, Hsieh says
Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that a demand by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers that he apologize for errors in the Kaohsiung MRT project is like forcing him to admit something he did not do. An apology should come from the bottom of the heart, Hsieh said. In this case, the premier said that even if he apologizes, it will not mean anything because the responsibility is not his. In addition, the KMT lawmakers accused him of making a variety of wrong decisions during his term as Kaohsiung City mayor, because they watched related TV reports that said Hsieh should take the responsibility for the project's shortcomings. This is just unfair and ridiculous, he said. Meanwhile, the KMT caucus yesterday said that the DPP should take the responsibility for the premier being banned for merely carrying out his administrative briefing.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
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