Hundreds of poets from 35 countries gathered in Taiwan to share their creative thoughts at the opening of the 30th World Congress of Poets in Taipei yesterday.
The opening ceremony was attended by several senior officials and former Indian president Abdul Kalam, who is also a poet and widely regarded as the “father of India’s missile program.”
“Poetry makes our life beautiful. The whole world can be connected through the words of poets,” Kalam said at the opening ceremony.
Taiwanese poet Yu Hsi (愚溪) — also known as Hung Ching-yu (洪慶祐) — president of this year’s World Congress of Poets, said at the opening ceremony that “poems are like a panacea for our souls.”
Yu said he was sure the international participants’ visit to Taiwan would be a great source of inspiration for them.
The poets attending the congress will visit eastern Taiwan during the six-day event, reciting poems at several scenic spots in Yilan and Hualien.
They are expected to return to Taipei on Tuesday to wrap up their Taiwan trip with a visit to the Taipei International Flora Expo.
At the opening of the congress, Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁) welcomed the international guests and invited them to visit again next year for the year-long cultural performances that will be held in commemoration of the Republic of China’s Centennial.
The first World Congress of Poets was held in the Philippines in 1969, at which Taiwan was one of the founding member countries.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese