DIPLOMACY
Israeli envoy given medal
Israel’s outgoing representative received a medal on Wednesday from the government in recognition of her contributions to promoting bilateral trade relations. Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei Representative Simona Halperinfinishes her assignment at the end of the month, received the Medal of Economic Contribution from Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) in recognition of her efforts to advance official and private trade exchanges in recent years, the ministry said in a statement. Halperin took up the post in August 2010. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and Israel has increased by 9 percent since 2010 to reach US$1.33 billion last year, the Israeli office said in a statement. During her five-year assignment in Taipei, Halperin has signed more than 10 memorandums of understanding and agreements to promote cooperation in areas such as water technology and aviation.
POLITICS
Election result upheld
The Pingtung District Court on Wednesday upheld the election of Pingtung County Council member Hung Tzu-chien (洪慈綪), finding that there was insufficient evidence to support a vote buying charge against her. Hung and former Liouciou Township (琉球) mayor Chen Lung-chin (陳隆進) were indicted on vote buying charges. They won their seats in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 29 last year. Chen on Monday was found guilty of the charges in a separate trial and his win in the Pingtung seat was invalidated. Hung gained prominence as the spokesperson for her family after her father, fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成), was killed when Philippine Coast Guard personnel opened fire on his boat in 2013.
CROSS-STRAIT TIES
Bodies mull ARATS visit
China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) might visit in the second half of this year, but a date will not be chosen too close to the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 16, a Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) official said on Wednesday. SEF Vice Chairman Chou Jih-shine (周繼祥) could not offer a specific timetable, but he said that preparations for the 11th cross-strait summit to be held by the two bodies, including the drafting of a tax agreement, are almost complete. Chen said a few days ago that the ARATS and SEF will probably meet next month, but Chou would not confirm the possibility of a meeting then, saying only that the SEF would seek to hold the meeting as soon as possible. Chou said the two parties are still working on drafts of the tax agreement, another agreement that would allow Chinese travelers to use Taiwan as a transit stop and a cross-strait aviation safety agreement.
CULTURE
Yo-Yo Ma, Stott to perform
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma (馬友友) and classical pianist Kathryn Stott are to visit in October to give a recital, organizers said yesterday. The multiple Grammy-winning Ma and his long-time music partner will perform as a duo at the National Concert Hall in Taipei on Oct. 30, according to Management of New Arts (MNA), the promoter of the concert. They will play Bach and Gounod’s Ave Maria, Sibelius’ Was It a Dream? Op. 37, No. 4, Gade’s Tango Jalousie, Debussy’s Beau Soir, Schubert’s Ave Maria and Sollima’s Il Bell’Antonio, MNA said. They will also perform Shostakovich’s Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 and Franck’s Sonata in A Major for Cello and Piano, the company said. MNA said it was in talks with the musicians about the possibility of adding concerts outside of Taipei. Ma and Stott, who is regarded as one of Britain’s most versatile pianists, last performed together in Taiwan in 2009, the company said.
DIPLOMACY
Ko Wen-je to visit S Korea
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) will leave for South Korea on Sunday for a five-day visit, with his itinerary beginning at the Gwangju Universiade and ending in Seoul, where he will view public housing and meet management of SM Entertainment, Taipei City Government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said yesterday. As Taipei is to host the 2017 Universiade, Ko will receive the flag of the world university games from the Gwangju sponsor at the closing ceremony on Tuesday, and speak at the ceremony, Lin said. He said that Ko will also hold a reception that evening. Ko and his entourage will stay overnight in the U-myeon public housing community in Seoul to observe its planning and interior design, Lin said. They will also visit SM Entertainment to get insights into the success of the South Korean company.
SPORTS
Taiwan win taekwondo gold
The 19-year-old Lin Wan-ting (林琬婷) won gold in the taekwondo women-under-46 kg competition at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea, yesterday. It was the second gold won by Taiwan’s university athletes at the Games. Taiwan grabbed their first gold in women’s team recurve bow archery on Wednesday. Lin beat Wilasinee Khamsribusa of Thailand 1-0 in a heated final, which marked Lin’s second win over the Thai fighter in two consecutive years. Lin had a 5-4 win over Khamsribusa when the two met at the Korean Open last year. Lin defeated South Korean Yu Su-yeon to advance to the final against Khamsribusa.
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:
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
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
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater