ARTS
Performing arts threatened
Lin Hwai-min (林懷民), choreographer and founder of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, yesterday said performing arts in Taiwan are at risk. Lin was invited to speak at a panel discussion on the topic of “Investing in the Arts” with Tony Hall, who heads Britain’s Royal Opera House. Lin said government support for the arts in Taiwan is not as strong as it is in the UK, so many independent groups are struggling. Moreover, as relations with China have improved, the latter has attracted both Taiwan’s capital and talent, he said. Without the prospect of a future, Taiwan would lose its experienced theater people, Lin said. He also touched on the importance of finding and cultivating a new generation of choreographers, saying that budget cuts in the arts would result in fewer quality productions.
TRANSPORtATION
New Singapore route starts
TransAsia Airways launched regular flights between Taipei and Singapore yesterday, becoming the third Taiwanese carrier to fly to the city-state after China Airlines and EVA Airways. TransAsia chairman Lin Ming-sheng (林明昇) said the airline planned to offer flights to all major cities in Asia within five years and to New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East in the future. The Taipei-Singapore service is aimed at attracting sightseers and business travelers from Singapore, he said. To meet rising demand, TransAsia has ordered 20 new passenger planes last year and this year. Delivery of the eight aircraft ordered last year, including two Airbus A330-300s with a capacity of 313 passengers each, will begin in the fourth quarter of next year, Lin said.
HEALTH
Child botulism case found
The nation’s first case of botulism poisoning in a child in 10 years is being treated at the intensive care unit of a Kaohsiung City medical center, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director General Chou Chih-hao (周志浩) said the type A botulinum toxin was found in a four-year-old boy from Pingtung County. It was the third case this year. The CDC said the boy was taken to Pingtung City hospital at about midnight on July 22 with symptoms of vomiting, stomach pain and disorientation. He was later sent to a medical center in Kaohsiung when his condition deteriorated. Officials said it was still unclear what had caused the botulism poisoning, but it ruled out bean products.
ART
Kids uninterested in art
Elementary and junior high school students seem to be shunning the country’s art museums and galleries. A recent poll conducted by the Ministry of Education released yesterday showed that up to 80 percent of elementary and junior high school students rarely take time to view art. According to the report, less than 20 percent of junior high school students regularly visit museums and fine art galleries and less than 30 percent of elementary school students do so. Despite this, the report shows that students are still able to evaluate art. For example, 66.6 percent of elementary students were able to offer a competent evaluation on the aesthetics of art. However, few could create artwork themselves. The evaluation was conducted on the basis of answers provided by 3,503 elementary school students and 3,503 junior high school students randomly chosen by the ministry.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard