Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday attended a wedding rehearsal for his granddaughter Lee Kun-yi (李坤儀) at the Jinan Presbyterian Church in Taipei, his first public appearance since he was hospitalized on Nov. 27 after suffering a minor stroke.
Lee appeared to be in a good mood as he stepped out of a car, accompanied by his wife, Tseng Wen-hui (曾文惠), and daughter-in-law Chang Yue-yun (張月雲).
“I am very happy,” he said in response to media queries, and said “yes” when asked if he would feel a little sad when his granddaughter left home.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Pastor Huang Chun-sheng (黃春生) said the former president was in a good mood during the rehearsal and held Lee Kun-yi’s hand as he escorted her from the entrance of the church to the altar.
Wang Yen-chun (王燕軍), director of Lee Teng-hui’s office, said that Lee Kun-yi is scheduled to marry James Chao (趙贊凱), head of model management company Catwalk Production House Corp’s Hong Kong branch, at the church at 2pm tomorrow, and a wedding banquet would be held at 6:30pm at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Taipei.
Only family members and close friends of the couple are invited, Wang said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National