■ Society
Lee arrives in New York
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and his wife arrived in New York on Friday on the second leg of their two-week private trip to the US. Lee and his wife were greeted by Tsai Jen-tai (蔡仁泰), an adviser to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁); Chang Ya-feng (張亞鳳), chairwoman of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in New York; and nearly 30 other supporters in the city. Before arriving in New York, Lee visited Anchorage, Alaska where Governor Frank Murkowski, a staunch supporter of Taiwan, gave him a warm welcome and played host. Lee was scheduled to visit "Ground Zero," where the World Trade Center once stood, yesterday.
PHOTO: AP
■ Health
Teen suicide rate a concern
A mental health survey released by the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) yesterday found that nearly 20 percent of teenage girls have been suicidal in the past year, and among them 6 percent have attempted suicide. The survey was publicized yesterday at a conference held in Taipei to address issues concerning depression and suicide prevention for children and teenagers. Professor Chiu Yen-nan (丘彥南) of NTUH's Psychiatry Department released the results of an investigation into depression-related suicides in children and teens, which found that teenage girls had more suicidal tendencies than teenage boys. However, boys are up to three times more likely to succeed in killing themselves than girls.
■ Defense
Military removing munitions
The military will continue to dispose of outdated ammunition, land mines and vacant barracks on Kinmen to help boost development and tourism on the frontline island, a military official said yesterday. Wu Ta-peng (吳達澎), commander of the Kinmen defense command, said that the command has shipped 3,300 tonnes of unserviceable ammunition since April from Kinmen to Taiwan for disposal. While 1,800 tonnes of outdated ammunition has been destroyed so far on Kinmen, the command is planning to dispose of another 1,000 tonnes next year to reduce the danger to local residents, Wu said. In addition, Wu said the military had completed an inspection of the minefields on Kinmen in May and decided to funnel NT$470 million starting next year to clear the land mines over a three-year period.
■ Society
Sex recruitment denied
The chief pastor of the South Korean Jesus Morning Church in Taiwan yesterday denied accusations that the church was involved in sexual misconduct by recruiting young female university students who allegedly were to be sent to South Korea to be sexually assaulted by the church's religious leader. The church's chief pastor in Taiwan Lin Huei-chuan (林暉川) yesterday denied media reports that the church recruited new members by holding beauty competitions in university campuses and through its football teams for sexual purposes. Chung Myung-seok (鄭明析), founder of the South Korean Jesus Morning Star Church (南韓攝理教會), has been wanted by police in South Korea and Taiwan for 10 years for sexually assaulting his female followers.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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