DEFENSE
Ministry denies marines plan
The Ministry of National Defense reiterated yesterday that it has no plans to scrap the marine corps in its next streamlining plan. The marines will continue to carry out duties such as amphibious operations, rapid reaction, counterterrorism operations and disaster rescue and prevention, ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said. Lo made the statement after dozens of retired marines staged a protest outside the ministry building in Taipei against a downsizing plan involving a restructuring of the corps. The plan aims to cut the number of troops to between 170,000 and 190,000 from the approximately 220,000 at present. Some reports said that the corps’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit will be incorporated into the army under the plan. The protesters expressed concern that the restructuring will weaken the corps and said they would mobilize more retirees for future protests if the ministry “continues to use bureaucratic language” in response to their concerns.
SOCIETY
Balloon festival to begin
The Taiwan International Balloon Fiesta opens today at Taitung County’s Luye Township (鹿野), with a variety of shows and activities planned. This year’s festival is to open with a concert at Seashore Park, with more events scheduled for June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25 and Aug. 10. For the first time, participants will have a chance to “walk in a balloon” — to take a close look at the inside of a balloon. Balloon rides are to be offered on each day from 5:30am to 7:30am and 5pm to 7pm.
DIPLOMACY
EU winners congratulated
The nation has extended its congratulations to the newly elected members of the European Parliament and aims to continue its efforts to improve ties with Europe under the new leadership, Zhang Ming-zhong (張銘忠), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, said yesterday. Voting took place across the 28-nation EU from May 22 until Sunday to elect members of the 751-seat parliament. Zhang said some members of the existing European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group were re-elected. Taiwan will continue its efforts to engage them and will seek to develop relationships with the newly elected parliamentarians to improve ties with Europe, he added. The European Parliament has expressed support for an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the EU and the nation’s participation in international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the ministry said.
DIPLOMACY
Ibaraki delegation arrives
A delegation from Japan’s Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly arrived yesterday to promote tourism and discuss the possibility of chartered flights between Taiwan and the prefecture. The delegation is to call on officials at the Tourism Bureau and at the Taipei-based Association of East Asian Relations, which handles ties with Tokyo in the absence of diplomatic relations, said Kuo Chung-shi (郭仲熙), deputy director-general of the foreign ministry’s Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Kuo said that as part of its efforts to promote Ibaraki, the delegation, comprising members of the Liberal Democratic Party, will explore the possibility of launching chartered flights between Taiwan and the prefecture, which opened a new airport in 2010. At present, there are regular direct flights between Taiwan and Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido.
ENTERTAINMENT
Jazz Party line-up unveiled
This year’s Summer Jazz Party in Taipei is to feature top international jazz artists, including US drummer Jimmy Cobb, best-known for his work with Miles Davis. Cobb, who played on Davis’ iconic Kind of Blue, will perform on Aug. 15, the National Theater and Concert Hall said. He will appear with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and trumpeter Michael Mossman from the US, as well as several local musicians and a Japanese performer, the hall said. US guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet will perform on Aug. 23, while Cuban trumpeter and nine-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval will plan on Aug. 29 with his sextet in his first concert in Taiwan, it added. The festival will close with a show by Italian jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and her band on Sept. 13. All the concerts will take place at the National Concert Hall, although free outdoor shows will also be held at Liberty Plaza on Aug. 8 and 9.
ENTERTAINMENT
Porn earbuds launched
Taipei-based Winzz on Tuesday launched earbuds specially designed for watching pornography. The firm said its “ladobi” headphones provide better acoustics and more intense sensations. What are reportedly the world’s first in-ear headphones designed for watching porn focus more on voices than sounds, and make female voices sound “more pleasing and less sharp” and male voices fuller and rounder, the company said. The six-channel surround sound earbuds allow users to feel as if they are really there, the company said. The ladobi cost US$39 and feature a 10mm double-layer composite diaphragm with a frequency response range of 15Hz to 22KHz, the Winzz Web site says. Winzz started in 2005 as an electronics manufacturer and entered the sex toy industry in 2012.
ENTERTAINMENT
Jazz Party line-up unveiled
This year’s Summer Jazz Party in Taipei is to feature top international jazz artists, including US drummer Jimmy Cobb, best-known for his work with Miles Davis.
Cobb, who played on Davis’ iconic Kind of Blue, will perform on Aug. 15, the National Theater and Concert Hall said. He will appear with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and trumpeter Michael Mossman from the US, as well as several local musicians and a Japanese performer, the hall said. US guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet will perform on Aug. 23, while Cuban trumpeter and nine-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval will plan on Aug. 29 with his sextet in his first concert in Taiwan, it added. The festival will close with a show by Italian jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and her band on Sept. 13. All the concerts will take place at the National Concert Hall, although free outdoor shows will also be held at Liberty Plaza on Aug. 8 and 9.
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not