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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS