CINEMA
‘Beyond Beauty’ still a hit
A month after Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣) first gave Taiwanese a new perspective on their nation, the documentary is continuing to post strong box office sales, surpassing the NT$110 million (US$3.72 million) mark over the weekend. Already the nation’s highest-grossing documentary, the film raked in an additional NT$9.06 million in Taipei alone between Friday and Sunday, distributor Activator Marketing Co said yesterday. That represented a 25 percent increase over the previous weekend, in which it was honored with the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary. The distributor said that as of yesterday, the film had taken NT$115 million since it opened on Nov. 1, making it the 15th-highest-grossing film — either foreign or domestic — at the box office this year. Made over the course of three years, the 93-minute documentary provides a rare bird’s-eye view of Taiwan’s natural beauty, while stressing the importance of environmental protection.
AVIATION
Hau wants more flights
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday called on China to open more routes and increase the frequency of flights to Taipei to meet the strong demand for air travel across the Taiwan Strait. Such an expansion would also help lower ticket prices, and increase exchanges between Taipei and major Chinese cities, Hau said during a luncheon with China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘). Hau said that since direct air links were launched between Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, tickets for the route have been selling like hot cakes, with prices remaining high. He noted that occupancy rates of more than 90 percent were recorded when two low-cost Chinese air carriers, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines, launched their inaugural flights to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday.
INVENTIONS
Nation bags 189 medals
Taiwan won big at this year’s Seoul International Invention Fair which concluded on Sunday, bagging a total of 189 medals and five special awards. Taiwan presented 222 inventions at the show, the most of any participating country and won 68 gold medals, 64 silver and 57 bronze. Inventors representing 31 countries presented a total of 704 creations at the show, which opened on Thursday last week. Several of the Taiwanese who showed their creativity in Seoul were from Chaoyang University of Technology. Its students won 11 medals (three gold, five silver and three bronze).
POLITICS
Itu Aba budget frozen
The Legislative Yuan’s Interior Committee decided yesterday to freeze the NT$200 million (US$6.75 million) budget for a new wharf and improvements to the runway on Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島), located in the disputed South China Sea, pending an environmental impact assessment. The funds are part of more than NT$1 billion requested by the Coast Guard Administration for infrastructure projects on Taiping, the largest of the Spratly Islands chain, which is claimed in whole or in part by several countries, but administered by Taiwan. Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Jinn-wang (王進旺) said that once the wharf is completed, the island would be able to accommodate ships of up to 3,000 tonnes, facilitating maritime patrols and rescue operations in the nearby area.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese