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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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