The government is scheduled to build a monument this year in honor of expatriates who have devoted themselves selflessly to Taiwan, the nation’s top cultural official said.
Council of Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁) said the expatriates to be recognized have contributed to Taiwan in a variety of fields, from education to medicine.
“The council is scheduled to honor them in the nation’s centennial year in the form of a monument, as well as with videos and Web sites, in recognition of their contributions to Taiwan,” he said.
The names of those expatriates who resided in Taiwan for over three decades, or who still reside here, and who have contributed tremendously to the land and the people, will be inscribed on the monument, Sheng said.
“The monument will be in the form of a public artwork and it will be possible to expand the list of names in the future as necessary,” he said.
Sheng said the council has collected almost 3,000 names for possible inclusion, including George Mackay, who in 1882 founded the hospital that bears his name, and Doris Brougham, a US educator and Christian missionary who came to Taiwan in 1951. The English magazine Studio Classroom she founded in 1962 has taught English to hundreds of thousands of native Chinese speakers.
Other names include Sister Lena Bomans of Belgium, a Medical Dedication Award winner, who established the first foundation for premature infants in Taiwan; Father Robert Crawford, founder of the Holy Family for Special Education in Miaoli County; and Roland Brown, founder of the Mennonite Christian Hospital in Hualien.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm