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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Entertainment
New TTV head announced
The Cabinet yesterday announced that National Chengchi University professor Chen Ching-ho (陳清河) will be the new president of Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV), a state-owned TV station. A press statement released by the Government Information Office (GIO) last night said in addition to Chen, Hua Nan Financial Holding Co chairman Lin Ming-cheng (林明成) and National Chengchi University sociology professor Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) were also put on the board. Government regulations, however, would appear to bar Lin from the position. The GIO said the new chairman would be automatically relieved of his position in approximately four months, after the government sells all its shares in TTV and it becomes a privately owned company.

■ Culture
Kaohsiung donates books
Kaohsiung City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs has donated books to the MV Doulos -- a ship known as the floating bookshop -- with the aim of promoting Kaohsiung globally as the international liner continues its voyages, Kaohsiung Bureau Chief Wang Chih-cheng (王志誠) said. The MV Doulos, berthed at Kaohsiung Fisherman's Wharf, is holding an onboard book show until next Monday. Built in 1914, the MV Doulos is now owned by German charity Gute Bucher Fur Alle. Carrying more than 500,000 books onboard, it has visited more than 100 countries around the world. Wang donated more than 400 books on behalf of the city government to Captain Ashley McDonald. The donated materials include books introducing the city, its flower season, maps and comics about the city's history. The ship will visit Taichung and Keelung after its stay in Kaohsiung, Wang said.

■ Arts
Arts festival planned
Taipei City has organized a two-month long Traditional Arts Festival featuring musical and theater performances by performers from both Taiwan and China. The festival,to be held between March 31 and June 2, will feature classical Chinese music performances by groups such as the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO) and the Shanghai Volk Opera. Traditional Taiwanese and Chinese theater will also feature at the festival. Theater performances will include Taiwanese opera and Taiwanese hand puppetry, as well as various regional opera performances by troupes from China, according to a press release issued by the city government. In addition to ticketed performances, the festival will also offer 16 free performances, said Hsu Ko-wei (許克巍), an official with the TCO. More information can be found online at: www.tco.gov.tw

■ Astronomy
New asteroids discovered
The Sky Survey project at Lulin Observatory at Yushan (玉山) has discovered 280 asteroids, with a remarkable 179 near-Earth objects spotted in the past half year, academic sources said yesterday. Six of the celestial objects have been validated and assigned designations by the Minor Planet Center -- an institution under the International Astronomical Union. The first two of the six have already been named "Lulin1" and "NCU90." The observatory was established and is operated by the National Central University, which began site evaluation in 1989 and completed its construction in 1999. According to the university, a 2m telescope will be fully operational by 2009.

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