Former presidential office secretary-general Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) recently donated more than 1,300 pieces from his 4,000-piece pig-themed memorabilia collection to commemorate the opening of the Swine Cultural Museum (豬仔文物館) by Taiwan Sugar Co on Saturday at the firm’s sugar refinery in Greater Kaohsiung’s Ciaotou District (橋頭).
Chen started collecting pig-themed objects from around the world several years ago and has amassed a vast collection that has turned his home into a pig paradise.
“I lived in the sugar refinery for about a year when my father still worked at the firm and during this time I established a deep bond with the place,” Chen said. “In spite of this, giving up part of my collection feels as if I’m marrying off a daughter.”
Photo: Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
Thanks to Chen’s generosity, the newly opened museum boasts a wide variety of pig-themed items, ranging from delicate Aboriginal artifacts and other artworks, to pig-shaped mugs Chen acquired in countries such as the US, Greece, Peru and Chile.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said the Ciaotou sugar refinery has been a popular tourist attraction because of its architecture and welcoming environment.
“We expect the opening of the Swine Cultural Museum will make the sugar refinery an even more attractive place to visit,” Chen Chu said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Sugar Co, which poured about NT$1.5 million (US$50,600) into the museum, said that aside from its flagship sugar business, the company has been involved in the hog-raising industry for more than six decades.
The museum is divided into sections, which include a riddle section, a global village section, a handicrafts section, a piggy-bank section and a children’s section, to facilitate public understanding of pigs and help dispel the animal’s negative stereotypes, the company said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost