CHARITY
Khieng T-shirt to help kids
Internationally renowned fashion designer Khieng Puong, now living and working in Taiwan, has designed a T-shirt for a charity drive for Aboriginal children, the non-profit Canlove Social Service Association, which organized the drive, said yesterday. Khieng, owner of the Taipei-based haute couture company Khieng Atelier, has designed a T-shirt especially for the charity that is seeking to provide better social services in Aboriginal communities, it said, adding that the proceeds from the sale of the T-shirt, 1,000 of which will be produced, would go toward programs for Aboriginal children. Khieng, who was born in Cambodia and married Wang Jui-jung (王瑞容), the daughter of late tycoon Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), said the T-shirt design integrates fashion elements and the unique totemic images of Taiwan’s Aborigines. The T-shirts will be sold online on the association’s Web site and on Yam Taiwan.
DIPLOMACY
Aid arrives in Thailand
The first batch of relief supplies donated by Taiwan to help flood victims in Thailand has arrived in the country, an official said yesterday. The supplies, which weigh 5,000kg, include surgical masks, food, sanitizers and first-aid kits. Thailand has been hit by its worst flooding in 50 years, said James Tien (田中光), director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The flooding in the world’s top exporter of rice broke out in late July and it has affected half of the nation’s population. On Oct. 18, the government donated US$100,000 to the Thai government. As the flooding in the country continued to worsen, Taiwan offered another US$100,000.
ENVIRONMENT
‘Green’ forums to be held
The German Institute in Taipei and a local environmental non-governmental organization are set to co-host forums on environmental issues throughout Taiwan starting from Monday, in an effort to promote a sustainable low-carbon environment, organizers said yesterday. The first forum is to be held in Yilan, followed by Greater Taichung and New Taipei City (新北市), before concluding in Greater Tainan, said Eugene Chien (簡又新), president of the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy. Attending the forums will be two German experts — Christian Maass, former state secretary for environment and urban planning in Hamburg, will share his experiences about making his city this year’s European Green Capital, while Rudiger Schweer, director of the Ministry of the Environment in Hessen, will focus on business structure and opportunity.
CULTURE
Eight to receive awards
Eight people, including a crosstalk performer and two Aborigine nose-flute players, will receive the human national treasure award this year, according to the Council of Cultural Affairs. Lai Pie-hsia (賴碧霞), who is also known as the “Queen of Hakka folk songs,” has been awarded for her achievements in preserving Hakka mountain music. Wu Chao-nan (吳兆南), 80, a renowned crosstalk performer, and Paiwan nose-flute players Hsu Kun-chung (許坤仲) and Hsieh Shui-neng (謝水能) are among those honored. The others are master tinsmith Chen Wan-neng (陳萬能), Buddhist sculptor Shih Chih-hui (施至輝), traditional wood sculptor Shih Chen-yang (施鎮洋) and traditional glove puppet artist Huang Chun-hsiung (黃俊雄). This year’s award ceremony is scheduled to be held tomorrow at the Taichung Cultural Creative Industrial Park.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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