CULTURE
AMPAS invites Taiwanese
The US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the group that hands out the Oscars, has invited three Taiwanese — actress-director Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉), screenwriter Wang Hui-ling (王蕙玲) and art director Hwarng Wern-ying (黃文英) — to join. Hwarng was listed in the designers category for Silence, a film directed by Martin Scorsese that was largely filmed in Taiwan, and Three Times (最好的時光), a film that she produced and was directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢). Chang, who was invited to join the actors category, was cited for Love Education (相愛相 親) and 20 30 40. Wang was named in the writers category for Fleeing by Night (夜奔) and Ang Lee’s (李安) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍). AMPAS on Monday issued 928 invitations to artists and executives who have made distinguished contributions to motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations would become members of the academy in autumn, the organization said.
TOURISM
Alishan train back on track
The Alishan Forest Railway in Chiayi County on Wednesday resumed normal operations, more than three months after part of the line was closed due to a series of derailments. Maintenance, safety inspections and improvements were completed on Monday on the section of the rail between Chiayi and Shizihlu (十字路) stations, the Taiwan Railways Administration said. The section was closed on March 12 following four accidents between Jan. 18 and Feb. 25. The railway, which runs through a scenic area to an elevation of 2,216m on Alishan, is popular among local and foreign travelers. It was built during the Japanese colonial period to transport timber and began operating in 1912.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard