CRIME
NIA celebrates culture ahead of International Migrants Day
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced last Wednesday that it would hold a series of activities to introduce the cultures of new immigrants, paving the way for International Migrants Day next month. Under the five-week program titled “Immigration Service and Multi-cultural Feast,” which will be held at NIA headquarters, each of the top six home countries of new immigrants will take turns hosting exhibitions displaying their arts, food and lifestyles, NIA officials said. Performances featuring each country’s traditional culture will be staged every Wednesday, it said. “Apart from the NT$300 million [US$9.09 million] spent on counseling for immigrants every year, the government is making additional efforts to help new immigrants integrate into our society, “ NIA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立?aid. Vietnam will be the first country featured, followed by Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar, and ending with China on Dec. 17. Hsieh said a large-scale activity would be staged on Dec. 18, which is International Migrants Day. The agency said there were currently 270,000 Chinese spouses of Taiwanese living in Taiwan and 140,000 other foreign spouses, mostly from Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
OPENING
European School plans annual Christmas Bazaar
The annual Taipei European School Christmas Bazaar will be held at the Shilin campus on Saturday from 11am to 5:30pm. The much-anticipated event will feature Christmas handicrafts and booths of delicious international food. Visitors can participate in raffles and other activities are planned such as the lighting of the Christmas tree. Part of the proceeds will be donated to local and international charities devoted to helping less fortunate children with their education. Parking is limited and all bazaar-goers are encouraged to take public transportation or taxi. The nearest MRT stop is Zhishan Station. For more information, check out www.taipeieuropeanschool.com.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese