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.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address