SOCIETY
Literary academic Pei dies
Pei Pu-yen (裴溥言), a renowned scholar of traditional Chinese literature died, of a brain tumor in Los Angeles on Saturday at the age of 96, writer Chi Chi (季季) announced. Pei, a native of China’s Shandong Province, was born in 1921 and studied at the National Women’s Normal College in Sichuan Province before moving to Taiwan at about the time when the Republic of China government was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. Pei, who taught in National Taiwan University’s Chinese department, achieved fame for her study and teaching of the Book of Odes (詩經 －先民的歌唱), which comprises 305 poems written in the 11th to 7th centuries BC. Pei was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February. Her husband, Mi Wen-kai (糜文開), who died in 1983, was a diplomat who served in India, the Philippines and Thailand and became famous for his translations of Indian literature, including works by Rabindranath Tagore.
SOCIETY
Teacher wins pole dancing
Lin Hsiang-chen (林詳宸) clinched the top title in the qualifier professional category at the Pacific Pole Championships on Saturday in Los Angeles. Lin was the only non-US competitor, as well as the only dancer from Asia. He was participating in the regional event for the first time, event organizers said. Lin said that he usually spends three months preparing for a competition, but this time he had only about one month. Lin teaches pole dancing at a dance studio. He said that he usually gets off work about midnight, and then rehearses until 3am or 4am. However, the end result is worth the hours, he said. He and the other teachers at the studio want to promote pole dancing in Taiwan through participating in international competitions.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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