POLITICS
CEC appointments approved
The legislature yesterday approved the appointment of five new commissioners to the Central Election Commission (CEC), paving the way for the commission to go ahead with preparations for the Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections. Three of the five commissioners, Kuo Yu-ying (郭昱瑩), Duan Chung-min (段重民) and Chai Sung-lin (柴松林), are incumbents whose two-year terms had expired, while Lin Tsyr-ling (林慈玲) and Chen Wen-sheng (陳文生) are new appointments. Lin is currently deputy minister of the interior and Chen is a university professor. The new appointments bring the the number of commissioners to 11, in accordance with the law. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators left the legislative floor before the vote. However, prior to departure, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said most of the five appointees were “on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] side” and the DPP would not bother to oppose the appointments.
MEDIA
Fake bloggers to be fined
The government plans to fine bloggers who make false claims or exaggerate the effectiveness of products on behalf of companies as the number of consumer disputes soars, authorities said yesterday. The legislature on Monday started revising a law to make it possible to fine bloggers and other reviewers up to 10 times the payment they receive for engaging in false advertising, the Fair Trade Commission said. Media said some bloggers are paid up to NT$70,000 per review, which are often disguised as simple journal entries, while in fact they talk up products and services to lure customers. One recent dispute involved a blogger who received an average of 140,000 hits a day and fabricated photographs to exaggerate the effect of beauty products, reports said.
SOCIETY
Go’s Hsieh wins Honinbo
Taiwanese go prodigy Hsieh Yi-min (謝依旻) captured the title at the 30th Women’s Honinbo tournament on Monday to become the first female go player to win the event five years in a row and be awarded an Honorary Honinbo. Hsieh said in January that she would try to win 10 consecutive titles at the Honinbo. In Monday’s final, Hsieh defended her title with a 3-1 victory over challenger Mukai Chiaki, whom she also defeated in the Honinbo finals last year. Hsieh, who lives in Japan, has been the Honinbo champion since 2007. Her victory this year made her the first female go player to receive an Honorary Honinbo title, which is given to players for winning five consecutive tournaments.
SOCIETY
Teens walk for orphans
Twenty-two high-school students from three continents joined local students in Changhua County on Monday to walk 100km to raise funds for orphans in Africa. The students from Japan, the US, Canada, Kenya and Swaziland joined 75 Taiwanese to complete the walk, organized by the International High School Youth Leadership Conference at Changhua High School. The trek includes trips to local temples to ask for donations from the public. Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) pledged to donate NT$10,000 if the students reach their goal. Janine Maxwell, the founder of Heart for Africa — a nonprofit organization that brings sustainable technologies to rural African villages — is one of those joining the project and she described the good will of the students as priceless.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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