A private foundation has offered a top prize of NT$1.2 million (US$39,600) for a historical fiction competition that encourages local writers to write about people and historical events in Taiwanese history.
The New Taiwan Peace Foundation, founded by Taiwan independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), announced the competition format yesterday at a press conference.
Koo, 89, said the competition would pay back the country he loves and that it is important “for the current generation to understand where their ancestors came from.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The foundation, established with Koo’s donation of US$100 million — about half of his assets — is to begin accepting entries in September next year and the winner is scheduled to be announced in December next year.
Known for his outspokenness, Koo also addressed several political issues yesterday, including the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) election of a new chair and the next presidential election.
Koo said DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) were all unqualified for the DPP chairmanship, but if he had to make a choice, he would pick Su over the others.
The DPP election is scheduled to be held in May.
Koo reiterated his theory that Taiwan is not mature enough to have a female president and said that was why he would not support Tsai’s presidential bid in 2012.
In the presidential election in 2016, he said the DPP should be represented by the younger generation, such as Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) or DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who will be running in the Greater Taichung mayoral race in November.
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