■ EVENTS
BaLiwakes remembered
The Council for Cultural Affairs and the National Center for Traditional Arts will host two concerts on Saturday in commemoration of Puyuma tribe musician BaLiwakes, better known by his Chinese name Lu Shen-pao (陸森寶). BaLiwakes was born in 1910 and was trained in Western music. However, he insisted on writing his lyrics in the Puyuma language, council vice-chairman Wu Chin-fa (吳錦發) said during a press conference at the council to promote the concerts and to launch a biography of BaLiwakes. "He not only passed on his music, but also many poetic words and sentences in the Puyuma language" long lost in modern speech, Wu said. The concerts will be held from 6pm to 9:30pm on Saturday at the Tien Education Center Chapel in Sindian (新店) and the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung.
■ EVENTS
Hakka photo exhibit opens
The Council of Hakka Affairs launched the "Hakka Impression 2007" photo exhibition at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall yesterday. The changing lifestyle of Hakka over the past century and comparative points of view between two generations of photographers are the themes of the exhibition, council minister Lee Yung-teh (李永得) said at a press conference opening the exhibition. To showcase generational differences, the exhibition includes works by senior Hakka photographers as well as by those from the younger generation. In addition, six non-Hakka photographers were also invited to participate in the exhibition to provide an "outsider's" point of view, a council press release said. The event runs until Nov. 27.
■ DIPLOMACY
Ma to visit Japan
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will visit Japan from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22 to present his policies on economic development, staff from his election campaign said yesterday. Ma, who is expected to meet representatives from Japan's business and political sectors, will be accompanied by KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), who maintains extensive ties with Japanese political and economic communities, Ma aides said. Last year, Ma visited Japan in his capacity as KMT chairman, the aides said, adding that this time, as a presidential hopeful, Ma would elaborate on his plans to transform Taiwan into a hub for financial services, trade and transportation in the Asia-Pacific region with stable cross-Taiwan Strait relations.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
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