FOOD
Poll shows lack of trust
Nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese do not trust food ingredient labels and a similar percentage has low trust in the government’s management of food safety, a survey by Global Views Monthly found. The magazine found that 78.7 percent of respondents do not trust the government’s ability to manage food safety, compared with only 15.1 percent who said they trust the authorities. The survey, conducted from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, was based on 1,026 valid samples from people over the age of 20. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The results reflect several food scandals that have rocked the nation over the past year. The magazine urged the government to regain public trust by demonstrating its intent to push through tougher regulations on food safety.
SOCIETY
Yunlin sculpture unveiled
An 8m-tall steel sculpture entitled Exploration — Farmer’s Foot, was unveiled on Wednesday at the Erlun Sports Park in Yunlin County as part of the Yunlin Agriculture Exposition. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) said the sculpture by Lu Ping-cheng (呂秉承) symbolizes the future of the county and its agricultural sector. Su said the sculpture was one of the highlights of the exposition, which opened on Dec. 25 and will run until March 6. Lu said the sculpture, which features a walking foot, represents the persistent spirit of Yunlin’s farmers in their daily lives and work. Exploration refers to efforts to explore and move forward, while the steel used to produce the work represents technology and innovation, Lu said, adding that the piled-up texture of the sculpture’s surface represents agriculture’s long history.
ORNITHOLOGY
Oriental stork eludes birders
A group of bird watchers had a good time looking for wild birds in Kinmen County on Wednesday, although they failed to find the species they most wanted to see. Led by the Wild Bird Society of Kinmen, about a dozen birders spotted several rare species, including black-faced spoonbills and black storks, near Lingshui Lake. However, they were not lucky enough to spot the oriental stork — an endangered bird that was the reason for Wednesday’s field trip. The bird, which can reach 1.29m in height and weigh up to 4.4kg, with a wingspan of 2.22m, was spotted seven weeks ago in the offshore county, prior to which it had not been sighted since 2000. It is likely that the birds were scared away by traffic and traveled to more remote wetland areas, local bird watchers said.
LITERATURE
Literary critic praised
Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) praised the contributions of renowned Chinese literary critic Hsia Chih-tsing (夏志清), who died on Sunday last week in New York at the age of 92. Hsia was a unique figure in contemporary world literature, Lung said, adding that he was familiar with Western literature and had “prophet-like” aesthetic insights into Chinese-language literature. The critic’s passion and lifelong dedication to literature will be remembered, she said. Hsia, born in Shanghai in 1921, is known for introducing modern Chinese literature to the West and was credited with helping Chinese writers such as Eileen Chang (張愛玲), Shen Congwen (沈從文) and Qian Zhongshu (錢鐘書) to gain greater recognition in the West. Hsia’s book A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, published in English in 1961, was a pioneering study of 20th-century Chinese fiction.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
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