SOCIETY
Chemistry exhibit opens
A new permanent exhibition about chemical science was opened to the public yesterday at the National Taiwan Science Education Center in Taipei. The center said the exhibition, titled “Exploring the World of Chemistry,” was aimed at changing the common perception that chemistry is difficult to understand. The exhibition has imported from England a display of objects made from 65 different elements, hoping to help visitors learn about the elements in a more friendly way than memorizing the periodic table, center director Chu Nan-shyan (朱楠賢) said. Information on how to keep beef juicy while cooking, how to make fruit juice without actual fruit, how clothes can by made by petroleum, the size of molecules and other questions related to people’s daily lives can be learned during a visit to the exhibition, the center said.
LABOR
Office workers want new jobs
Up to 82.33 percent of the nation’s office workers want to land a new job before the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 10 next year, because of the economic slowdown, a recent survey showed. Among those interested in getting a new job, 36.7 percent said they were planning to do it earlier than expected due to the potential instability of their current jobs, according to the poll conducted by 1111 Job Bank. However, 26.07 percent said they were more cautious about making changes in their careers out of concern about the weak labor market. Slow economic growth has led to a diverging trends, with some workers speeding up job-change plans to avoid salary freezes, unpaid leave or even layoffs, while others are delaying similar moves, the online job agency said.
CRIME
Mob boss’ sentence upheld
The Taiwan Supreme Court on Friday upheld the life sentence given to an organized crime boss who ordered an execution-style killing in 2010. Yang Ding-jung (楊定融), was accused of ordering Liao Kuo-hao (廖國豪), who had yet to turn 18 at the time, to kill Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠), someone against whom Yang held a grudge, in broad daylight at Weng’s office in Taichung on May 28, 2010. A friend of Weng surnamed Lai (賴) was also killed in the shooting. The Taichung District Court sentenced Yang to life imprisonment for manslaughter and stripped his civil rights for life. The verdict and sentence were upheld by the Taichung branch of the High Court, which found that Yang instructed Liao to murder Weng and then let Liao shoulder the blame. The Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts. Its ruling is final. The high-profile case drew attention not only because of the execution-style killing in broad daylight, but because it was later discovered that police officers were sitting around relaxing in Weng’s office at the time of the shooting.
TOURISM
Double-entry permits offered
Taipei will offer Chinese tourists double-entry permits to encourage them to take cruises in and out of Taiwan, National Immigration Agency Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) said yesterday. Under the new measure, which will take effect on Tuesday, Chinese tourists may apply for a double-entry permit if they can show tickets for cruises from any port in the country or documents showing a reservations for such trips, Hsieh said. The double-entry permit will allow the tourists to arrive in the country, either by plane or on a cruise ship, and then enter Taiwan again on a cruise ship that leaves and then returns to Taiwan.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a