SOCIETY
Noodles mark Tsai victory
A restaurant in Kaohsiung is offering a discount on its trademark dish to celebrate the election of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as the nation’s first female president. The restaurant is to sell a bowl of big-bone noodles for NT$60 instead of its usual price of NT$90 until the end of this month. The owner, surnamed Huang (黃), said he initially planned to sell the noodles for NT$30, but changed his mind for fear of harming business for other restaurants. Huang said he set the price at NT$60 because Tsai is to turn 60 this year. He said Tsai’s victory represents women’s success and hopes that she can revitalize the sluggish economy after she assumes office. If well-received, the discount could be extended until the president-elect’s May 20 inauguration, Huang said.
POLITICS
Runner-up demands recount
DPP legislative candidate Hsu Ching-wen (徐景文) has filed for a vote recount with the Taoyuan District Court after losing an electoral race in the city with a margin of less than 0.25 percent. A judge yesterday seized the ballots and poll books at 173 voting stations in the city’s third electoral district and ordered police to guard them around the clock. Hsu made the request on Monday after losing to Apollo Chen (陳學聖) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Hsu received 77,120 votes, or 44.4896 percent, compared with Chen’s 77,510 votes, or 44.7146 percent. According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), a recount can be requested if the difference between two candidates is less than 0.3 percent. The law stipulates that once an appeal for a vote recount is made, the results should be announced within 20 days.
CULTURE
Museum raises visitor quota
The National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Chiayi County has increased its daily visitor quota for next month from 1,750 to 5,000 to meet growing demand. The museum opened late last year on a trial basis. Under the original plan, it was intended to accept 1,000 free visits per day until the end of its trial run on March 31. The quota was then increased to 1,750 per day due to rising demand to tour the new museum, which was designed by architect Kris Yao (姚仁喜), the museum said. As the winter break for students and the Lunar New Year holiday are approaching, the museum decided to further raise the daily quota to 5,000 for next month, it said. Individuals or tour groups planning to visit the southern branch must book permits online in advance at the museum’s official Web site, with registration for visits next month to start today.
CRIME
Police search for slasher
Police are still trying to track down a Vietnamese migrant worker who allegedly slashed four of his compatriots with a knife in Nantou County over the weekend. The Nantou Precinct on Monday said that the four foreign workers were gathering at a Vietnamese eatery at about 5pm on Sunday when about seven or eight foreign workers rushed in and one of them slashed the four with a knife. The suspect and his friends fled the scene in two vehicles. The four injured Vietnamese were rushed to a hospital and their situation was stable. The most seriously injured was a worker who had two fingers cut off. Two of the injured people checked out of the hospital on Monday, while the other two remained hospitalized.They said that they did not know the suspect or why they were targeted.
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
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS