TRAVEL
Warning issued for Trinidad
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning yesterday advising people to avoid traveling to Trinidad and Tobago, where tensions were rising after the government of the Caribbean nation declared a curfew in the wake of a surge in violent crime. A 15-day period of emergency rule was imposed on Aug. 21 in a bid to halt the surge in violent crime linked to the drug trade, the ministry said, adding the emergency rule was mainly to allow authorities to conduct search and seizure operations and make arrests. The ministry issued an “orange” warning, which is the second-highest on its four-color tourism advisory system. Orange means to avoid going to the destination and to be on high alert if there.
DIPLOMACY
Documentaries posted
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York has launched a Web site that provides 22 documentaries about Taiwan to help people better understand the country. The Web site, created by the office in cooperation with video Web site DramaFever, features documentaries on topics ranging from Taiwanese delicacies, culture, music, customs and festivals to the business scene, healthcare and learning Chinese. The documentaries, produced by the Government Information Office, aim to provide in-depth knowledge of Taiwan through the Internet and draw more visitors to the country for pleasure, business or to study. Each documentary is about 30 minutes long and can be viewed on DramaFever’s Web site at www.dramafever.com/taiwan. They include: Food from the Heavens — Taiwan’s Rice Culture, The Green Green Grass — the Story of Taiwan’s Fight Against SARS; Visions of Taiwan’s Mountains; Embrace Life — the Story of Taiwan Medicine and Tradition Meets Modernity — Energy for Taiwan Music.
CULTURE
‘Crosstalk’ icon honored
Renowned actor Wu Jau--nan (吳兆南) cried on Tuesday upon hearing that he was selected as one of the nation’s “Significant Traditional Arts Preservers” by the Council of Cultural Affairs. The honor is presented to those considered “human national treasures” for their dedication to the preservation of traditional arts. Wu was honored for his contributions and devotion to “crosstalk” (相聲) for 60 years. Crosstalk is a traditional Chinese comedic performance that usually takes the form of a dialogue between performers. Wu was overjoyed after hearing that he received the honor but also saddened to tears that his wife, who died two years ago, could not share his happiness. He said he would try to stay healthy and take every opportunity to be “used” to promote the art form.
CRIME
Customs brokers questioned
Prosecutors yesterday questioned five customs brokers who are suspected of bribing officials to help importers smuggle goods, after raids on their offices and homes. The Taipei District Public Prosecutors’ Office began its probe into the case last year after receiving tip-offs that customs officials were taking bribes from brokers to cover up the smuggling of banned goods, or to allow importers to pay lower tariffs by undervaluing their imports. Investigators have detained 10 officials from the Directorate General of Customs and the Keelung Customs Office they believe were involved in the scandal. The prosecutors launched the first round of raids and questioning in July, and detained several importers and customs officials, including Deputy Director-General of Customs Lu Tsai-yih (呂財益).
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
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