■ FLORA
Taichung hosts flower show
The Council of Agriculture announced yesterday that 30 hectares of land showcasing more than 70 types of flowers will be on display in Taichung County’s Sinshe Township (新社) starting this weekend. Organizers said they expected the event, which will run for a month starting on Saturday, to draw more than 1 million visitors. Yang Chuo-chi (楊佐琦), a representative of the organizers, advised the public to come on weekdays to avoid the weekend traffic. The council expects the event to bring in more than NT$1 billion (US$31 million) in business opportunities.
■ SOCIETY
Man snares rats for mom
A man has been catching rats for 24 years so that his mother can eat what she considers a delicacy at every meal, local media reports said. The man, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), 37, is a farmer in Houpi (後壁), Tainan County, the Chinese-language United Daily News said. It said Hsiao started catching rats when he was 13 when his mother had surgery to remove gallstones. Hsiao’s family was poor and had no money to buy food, so his father taught him to catch rats in the sugarcane fields to make soup. Hsiao’s mother said that at first she was afraid to eat it, but she forced herself and eventually fell in love with the delicacy.
■ MEDICINE
ART attracts foreign couples
The number of foreign couples traveling to Taiwan to seek medical help to enable them to conceive has been growing steadily thanks to the nation’s advanced development of assisted reproductive technology (ART), said Lee Mao-sheng (李茂盛), a gynecologist and obstetrician. Lin said more than 100 foreign couples visit each year for ART help, generating more than NT$40 million (US$1.23 million).
■ POLITICS
DPP pans Hsinchu mayor
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused Hsinchu Mayor Lin Junq-tzer (林政則) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of agreeing with Beijing that Taiwan is a province of China. Lin was recently a guest at the unveiling of a monument on Pingtan Island in China’s Fujian Province, just 68km from Taiwan. The inscription on the monument described China as the “motherland” and Taiwan as a subordinate island. Lin said he did not know in advance what was written on the monument and was only a guest. “The Chinese consider the People’s Republic of China their motherland, but for Taiwan, our mother country will forever be the Republic of China,” he said. DPP lawmakers were not convinced, accusing Lin of silently assenting to please Beijing for his own personal gain. “It is impossible that Lin did not know the inscription before the ceremony,” DPP lawmaker Su Cheng-ching (蘇震清) said. “It is a shame that a Taiwanese local government chief did not even have the courage to protect the dignity of Taiwan and its people.”
■ POLITICS
Hau has challenger
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋) yesterday announced his bid to run in next year’s mayoral election. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), also of the KMT, said he respected and welcomed Yang’s decision, adding that the party would select its candidate democratically. Yang yesterday accused Hau of distancing himself from his predecessor, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and adopting a campaign strategy of attacking Ma to boost his own popularity. Hau said he would work to improve his approval rating, but would not distance himself from Ma for political gain. He said Ma knew that he could not distance himself from his predecessor because Ma’s projects as mayor are ongoing.
■ HEALTH
Vaccine under way
Taiwan will work with Canada on a vaccine to protect Taiwanese and other Asians from the pneumococcus bacteria that causes pneumonia, an official said yesterday. “The cooperative project is expected to come to fruition in five to 10 years,” Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) said. Although an existing Canadian vaccine is used in Europe, the Asian strain of the bacteria is different, Wong said. As many Taiwanese children and elderly have developed pneumonia after being infected with pneumococcus, Wong said Taiwan looked forward to producing a vaccine suitable for Taiwan and other Asian countries.
■ POLITICS
Wu calls Ma ‘chairman’
Former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday referred to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as “chairman” when he asked a Chinese official to convey Ma’s greetings to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). While meeting Liang Baohua (梁保華), head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Jiangsu Province, Wu referred to Ma as “chairman” throughout his speech. Only once did he refer to Ma as “yuan shou” (元首) or “head of state.” Wu asked Liang to pass on “Chairman Ma’s” regards to Hu, who doubles as CCP general secretary. Liang is the first CCP provincial committee secretary and the highest-ranking CCP official to visit Taiwan. His delegation is also the biggest to visit, with more than 3,000 people. The delegation is expected to make purchases in Taiwan worth up to US$2 billion.
■FLORA
Taichung hosts flower show
The Council of Agriculture announced yesterday that 30 hectares of land showcasing more than 70 types of flowers will be on display in Taichung County’s Sinshe Township (新社) starting this weekend. Organizers said they expected the event, which will run for a month starting on Saturday, to draw more than 1 million visitors. Yang Chuo-chi (楊佐琦), a representative of the organizers, advised the public to come on weekdays to avoid the weekend traffic. The council expects the event to bring in more than NT$1 billion (US$31 million) in business opportunities.
■SOCIETY
Man snares rats for mom
A man has been catching rats for 24 years so that his mother can eat what she considers a delicacy at every meal, local media reports said. The man, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), 37, is a farmer in Houpi (後壁), Tainan County, the Chinese-language United Daily News said. It said Hsiao started catching rats when he was 13 when his mother had surgery to remove gallstones. Hsiao’s family was poor and had no money to buy food, so his father taught him to catch rats in the sugarcane fields to make soup. Hsiao’s mother said that at first she was afraid to eat it, but she forced herself and eventually fell in love with the delicacy.
■MEDICINE
ART attracts foreign couples
The number of foreign couples traveling to Taiwan to seek medical help to enable them to conceive has been growing steadily thanks to the nation’s advanced development of assisted reproductive technology (ART), said Lee Mao-sheng (李茂盛), a gynecologist and obstetrician. Lin said more than 100 foreign couples visit each year for ART help, generating more than NT$40 million (US$1.23 million).
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday hosted a reception to celebrate Double Ten National Day. Conservative Canadian lawmaker Marc Dalton called Taiwan a “beacon of courage and resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism,” according to a post on the Taiwan in Vancouver Facebook page. Also in attendance were fellow conservative caucus members Tako Van Popta and Chak Au, who said that Taiwan plays an “indispensable role” in ensuring global peace, prosperity and stability due to its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, it said. Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper also recorded a message wishing Taiwan a
RSS