A public gathering organized by the Taiwan-based Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation to pay tribute to Buddha, parents and all living things, has been scheduled for next Sunday, Mother’s Day, the organizers said yesterday.
Lee Yi-huei (李怡慧), a spokeswoman for the Tzu Chi Daan Branch in Taipei, said May is considered Piety and Tzu Chi month. The combination of Vesak, Mother’s Day and Tzu Chi Day on May 11 “is really meaningful for us [Tzu Chi believers],” she said.
Lee further explained in a press release that Vesak Day, an annual holiday observed by practicing Buddhists, is devoted to a symbolic washing away of sins and a self purification with the Dharma’s pure water of wisdom.
“As all of us have the same translucent nature as Buddha ... with pure water, we hope to bring the light of wisdom to all corners of the world,” Lee said.
Lee said the event was aimed at awakening people’s awareness in the nature of Buddha and “to be able to respect all beings all the time and to repent of the five evils of greed, we pray for one and all with gratitude and that the extensive flow of charity and compassion will purify us all.”
The event will take place at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall in Taipei between 6:15pm and 8pm next Sunday. All participants are advised to wear white long sleeved shirts and dark colored trousers.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious