■TRANSPORTATION
MOTC to probe airport
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said yesterday the ministry will set up a task force to assess the problems at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The task force will be headed by Chang Yu-hern (張有恆), a former director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and currently the chairman of the Aviation Safety Council under the Executive Yuan. The airport has been the subject of a series of negative reports recently, including complaints about its restaurants and luggage carts, as well as the collapse of a jet bridge and reports of a wild party at the airport’s Central Control Center.
■SPORTS
Soccer talent needed
The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) called on the government to cultivate local soccer players from an early age and to establish soccer coaching in elementary schools around the country in an effort to promote the sport. CTFA Chairman Lu Kun-shan (盧崑山) said the golden age to start cultivating soccer players is between eight and 12, and that the association is outlining a program with the Ministry of Education and Sports Affairs Council to organize soccer education for school children and hold international tournaments. Lu said that the FIFA World Cup has a high market value and has become a factor in forging national solidarity for countries that compete, and that it is a pity Taiwan is absent from the eye-catching event. He said the government and local companies should work together to sponsor and cultivate athletes in Taiwan.
■ENVIRONMENT
Professor honored in US
Taiwan-native James Liao (廖俊智), a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been awarded a prestigious chemistry prize in the US for synthesizing fuels from carbon dioxide. The development, which won this year’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency, has tremendous potential for cutting carbon emissions and saving fossil fuels, Liao said in an interview with the Central News Agency. “The research is expected to enter mass production in five years at the soonest,” he said. “Once it enters mass production, it could replace 14 kinds of petroleum-based fuels and eliminate about 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.” Liao said scientists have only been able to indirectly convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels in the past, but his research has successfully developed a process that genetically modifies cyanobacterium to consume carbon dioxide to produce the liquid fuel isobutanol. Isobutanol is one of a number of higher alcohols considered to be superior to ethanol as a fuel because of a higher energy density.
■FESTIVAL
French party tonight
A street party will be held at National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) today to celebrate France’s National Day. The Association des Francais de Taiwan (AFT), a nonprofit organization that aims to promote French culture in the Taiwanese community, is co-organizing the event with FreshTreks, a team building and event organizing specialist. The Bastille Day celebration, being held for the fourth time, is the biggest event of the year for the AFT, the organizers said. The party starts today at 6:30pm and will feature good food, prizes, sketch artists and live bands. The entrance fee is NT$200, while admission is free for children under 12.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
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