The oldest daughter of veteran entertainer Yu Tian(
The youngest contestant in the first ever "world series" tournament for mahjong, Yu Shiao-ping (
"I can't even remember when I learned how to play mahjong," Yu Shiao-ping, 29, was quoted as saying in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper).
"When I was a baby, my granny would play it while holding me," she said. "Somewhere along the way, I just picked it up."
Held in Macau, the tournament attracted players from China, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, and lasted until the wee hours yesterday.
Despite her youth and lack of experience playing with 13 tiles -- the format for the Macau tournament -- Yu Shiao-ping was the only one out of six Taiwanese players to make it to the final match. The others had all been eliminated earlier.
Up against three Hong Kong finalists, Yu Shiao-ping beat out one of her competitors in a tense, prolonged game, taking home US$80,000 as the third-place winner.
The entry fee for playing in the contest was US$5,000, the tournament's Web site showed.
Asked how she would spend her prize, Yu Shiao-ping said her mother had lost NT$1 million (US$30,400) playing Baccarat in Macau casinos.
"I'll use my winnings to help Mom pay off [her debts], after which I'll donate a portion to charities in Taiwan," she said.
Taiwanese players in Chinese games of chance and strategy typically win big in international contests.
Chinese "go" champion Chou Chun-hsun (周俊勳), 27, took home nearly US$270,000 in prize money after winning the world "go" title in Seoul in March.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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
RSS