■ EDUCATION
Wang Dan to teach history
Wang Dan (王丹), one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, has been hired to teach cross-strait history in Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, a school official said. Wang will be a visiting scholar at the university from Aug. 1 to the end of February next year, Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), dean of the school’s Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. Wang will teach a class on China and Taiwan in the 1950s, Hsueh said. Wang, 40, has been living in exile in the US since fleeing China after the Chinese army crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in June 1989. He received a PhD from Harvard University last year and wrote a doctoral dissertation entitled: A Comparative Study of State Violence in Mainland China and Taiwan in the 1950s.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Volvo to recall sedans
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday demanded that Volvo Group recall all diesel sedan model XC70s sold before last August because its nitrogen oxide emissions exceed the national limit. The EPA said that whereas Article 5 of the Vehicular Air Pollutant Emission Standards (交通工具空氣污染物排放標準) states that nitrogen oxide emissions should not exceed 0.25g per kilogram, the Volvo XC70 emissions are at 0.28g per kilogram. This year’s XC70 model has passed EU emissions tests, the EPA said, however older versions sold from October 2007 to August last year — a total of 154 cars — have emissions that do not meet this standard and therefore should be recalled. Volvo will begin to contact the owners of the vehicles, the EPA said, adding that those contacted should cooperate with the company to help improve air quality.
■ POLITICS
Ma offers virtual tour
Anyone interested in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) day-to-day life can now log on to the Presidential Office Web site and Ma will give you a virtual tour of his office. As a part of efforts marking Ma’s first year in office, the Presidential Office on Wednesday posted a video featuring Ma offering the public a glimpse of the country’s center of power. During the 12-minute video, Ma shows viewers a bronze horse given to him by one of his supporters in Taipei, books that he recommends reading, Chinese calligraphy by Fu Shen (傅申) and Chang Ping-huang (張炳煌), paintings by a 228 victim’s family member, Liao De-cheng (廖德政), and works by physically challenged foot and mouth painter Yang En-dian (楊恩典). One of the photographs in the office that he particularly likes, Ma says, features him eating red bean cake, as his wife looks at him with a stern expression. Ma said her look is one that is familiar to him and that she must be thinking at that moment: “Why am I married to this man?”
■ DIPLOMACY
AIT closed for holidays
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) will be closed on Monday (May 25) in observance of US Memorial Day and on Thursday next week in observance of the Dragon Boat Festival, the AIT said in a press release yesterday. All AIT sections and offices, including the Consular Section, Commercial Section, Agricultural Trade Office, American Cultural Center and AIT Kaohsiung branch office will be closed for the holidays, the press release said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.