Fri, Mar 29, 2024
US Representative Jack Bergman yesterday said that he would ask other members of the US Congress to recognize the importance of Washington’s partnership with Taiwan.Bergman, a member of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Intelligence and Special Operations S
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night.It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan
TAIWAN SITUATION: A 70-year-old woman in Kaohsiung who had taken similar supplements for three or four years had acute kidney failure in March last year and began dialysis in May Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which is at the center of a health scare, yesterday reported two more deaths potentially related to its dietary supplements.In Taiwan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it is investigating a report of a Kaohsiung woman with kidney failure w
POLITICAL GRUMBLINGS: The suspect wrote on Facebook before the incident that he hates the Democratic Progressive Party and news media are vilifying China The Taipei Police Department yesterday arrested a 54-year-old man surnamed Chang (張) for allegedly firing three gunshots at the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Taipei.No one was injured in the shooting.The incident nonetheless caused a security scare as the building is only about 750m from the Presid
French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday celebrated the launch of Brazil’s third French-designed submarine, which would help secure the country’s coastline.The two men highlighted the importance of their countries’ defense partnership at a cerem
Russia on Wednesday struck the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with aerial bombs for the first time since 2022, killing at least one civilian and wounding 16 others, local officials said, adding that their forces had shot down 26 out of 28 attack drones launched overnight.The airstrikes caused widespread
FLEXIBILITY: The digital ministry is testing two different satellite systems as part of its efforts to build a diverse and resilient communication network, an official said The government is to test a medium Earth orbit satellite system on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) at the end of next month and aims to activate the low Earth orbit system OneWeb in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday.Tests of two satellite systems are pa
REPORT: Preventing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is essential in countering security threats posed by Beijing and critical to US’ economic prosperity, a think tank said US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, in the South China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula,” during a call with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) on Tuesday, US Department of State spok
OLD FRIEND: The ‘Taiwan is not a country’ comment was likely made to appease Beijing and get the former president a meeting with Xi Jinping, a lawmaker said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday denounced a comment by a top aide of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying that his statement “Taiwan is not a country” denigrates the nation’s sovereignty. “Taiwan is not a part of China, and neither side is subordinate to the other. Most
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Attorney General Grenville Williams on Wednesday lauded Taiwan’s efforts to co-organize an international workshop on tackling transnational fraud in Taipei. Williams was in Taiwan for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework’s International Workshop on Combating
Taiwan is to launch a new phase of the regional revitalization plan next year, which aims to form links between local towns and the world, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the opening of a two-day Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) forum in Taipei yesterday.The proposed plan is a co
Selected works by late Taiwanese director Edward Yang (楊德昌) will be screened at the Harvard Film Archive in the United States from March 29 to May 5 as part of an event jointly curated by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture and Harvard University."Chronicles of Changing Times. The Cinema of Edward Yang" wi
DEVIL’S LETTUCE: The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said on Wednesday that busts for cannabis have escalated in the past decade — from 403 cases in 2014 to 1,477 last year Taiwan is experiencing a surge in cannabis smuggling, cultivation and use, Ministry of Justice officials said on Wednesday, warning the public against its use and sale, while reiterating its opposition to calls for decriminalization.Presenting seized cannabis products for reporters at a ministry bri
A recent study by Academia Sinica created a novel method for calculating elevation-dependent climate change-induced temperature shifts, allowing scientists to predict environmental impacts with greater precision.The research was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday with open public access.Th
It could take one to two months to finalize the carbon fee rate, as a review committee has not yet decided on the rate, but a plan to collect the fees from next year remains unchanged, Minister of Environment Shieu Fuh-sheng (薛富盛) said on Wednesday.The Ministry of Environment was previously schedule
The first brain donated by a patient who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was delivered to the Taiwan Brain Bank recently, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital said on Tuesday. The donor, Huang Ting-cheng (黃鼎承), was a 50-year-old man diagnosed three years ago with the fatal motor neuron disease, w
RETALIATION: China imposed tariffs of up to 218% on Australian wine in March 2021 after the PM called for a probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic China has lifted its punitive tariffs on Australia’s wine exports, signaling an end to a three-year campaign of trade pressure on Canberra and raising hopes for a revival of the billion-dollar industry.The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the move yesterday. The industry has been anticipating
SCRUTINY: Companies have braved a tough antitrust environment to pursue large deals, increasingly backing themselves to win in court against regulatory challenges Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) bounced back in the first quarter after a downbeat last year, thanks to the return of mega deals, cheering investment bankers and lawyers waiting for a pickup.Total M&A volumes globally climbed 30 percent year-on-year to about US$755.1 billion, according to the most re
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a must-have tool for businesses to increase productivity amid drastic changes in markets and the environment, Wistron Corp (緯創) chairman Simon Lin (林憲銘) said at a panel discussion at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University after receiving an honorary doctorat
With China’s economy in the doldrums, people have been asking whether a slowing economy might make Chinese less supportive of a hypothetical invasion of Taiwan. With more pressing issues, such as healthcare, housing and cost of living, Chinese might be more concerned with developments inside their c
The death of a one-year-old boy nicknamed Kai-kai (剴剴), allegedly from abuse at the hands of his caregiver has raised concerns.In response, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that the social safety net still has some holes that need to be “mended.”Hoping for the social safety n
Scenes of cigarette smoking shown in films or TV dramas are generally accompanied by a warning such as “Smoking is not a good example to follow” or “Smoking is bad for your health.” However, following the invention of new types of tobacco and smoking products such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigaret
SIXERS DENIED: There was controversy in Philadelphia as officials acknowledged they missed a call that would have given the hosts a chance to win it at the free-throw line Kevin Durant on Wednesday scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 104-97 victory over reigning NBA champions the Denver Nuggets to keep things close at the top of the Western Conference.The Suns made 16 three-pointers and never trailed after the first quarter in Denver
Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner on Wednesday won his 20th match of the year to reach the Miami Open semi-finals for the third time in the past four years with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Tomas Machac.Sinner, seeded second, was to take on third seed Daniil Medvedev in a rematch of last year’s Miam
Chelsea on Wednesday reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League despite a 1-1 draw at home to Ajax, while Olympique Lyonnais also progressed after brushing aside SL Benfica in France.Mayra Ramirez put Chelsea into a first-half lead on her European club debut, before Chasity Grant e
Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert on Wednesday broke his collarbone and several ribs in a high-speed mass fall during the Around Flanders one-day race.The 29-year-old star will now miss Sunday’s blockbuster Tour of Flanders and next week’s Paris-Roubaix, but could be back for the Giro d’Italia in May, w
‘CRUCIAL TURNING POINT’: The council said the new government would ‘put Haiti back on the road to democratic legitimacy, stability and dignity’ with a clear plan The governing council that aims to oversee a political transition in Haiti on Wednesday vowed to restore “public and democratic order” in its first statement to the Caribbean nation wracked by a security crisis.Haiti, which has long grappled with spiraling violence, has been rocked by an uptick in c
ARMED FORCES DAY: It is disheartening to see young people ‘becoming scapegoats of insurgents and misled by propaganda through media sabotage,’ a general said The head of Myanmar’s ruling military council marked Armed Forces Day on Wednesday with a speech saying that the nation’s youth were being tricked into supporting the resistance against army rule, and that ethnic armed groups allied with the resistance engage in drug trafficking, natural resources s
Japan’s moon lander woke up after unexpectedly surviving a second frigid, two-week lunar night and transmitted new images back to Earth, the country’s space agency said yesterday.The uncrewed Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe touched down in January, making Japan only the fifth nation
The Suhua Highway (蘇花公路) is one of Taiwan’s most famous — and most infamous — roads. Winding its way along marble cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean, the scenery is unparalleled. However, this narrow road is full of blind turns and prone to rockslides, so for years, many avoided this section altoge
Taipei has long been home to a booming drag queen scene, but this weekend the kings will ascend to the throne. Swapping wigs and stilettos for silicon sixpacks and speedos, drag kings are revolutionizing Taipei’s queer spaces. Saturday night, “tattoo as performance” takes drag to daring new heights
Steve Martin has never been one to follow any sort of playbook. It is fitting the first official documentary about his life is similarly unconventional: A freewheeling story told in two parts, one part focused on “Then” and one part focused on “Now” (kind of) with both parts debuting on Apple TV+ to
A: Apart from the channel of Xander 73, Taiwan’s first 10-million YouTuber, what other channels are also popular?B: Some top Taiwanese YouTube channels include “Muse Asia,” “Cdrama BOX” and “Roman and Sharon” — with 6.65, 6.57 and 6.41 million subscribers respectively.A: Oops, I’ve never heard of
A: Wow, YouTuber Xander 73’s channel “73_Tricking” now has over 10 million subscribers, making him Taiwan’s first 10-million YTR.B: Cool! But what’s “tricking?”A: Basically, it’s a sport derived from extreme martial arts.B: Xander 73’s income is as high as NT$600,000 per month. What’s the secret
Have you ever wished for an extra hour to prepare for exams or finish homework? In some countries, people actually adjust their clocks to gain or lose an hour, all for the sake of Daylight Saving Time (DST). Specifically, clocks are set forward by an hour in March and then set back in November. One
It’s certainly been a pleasure watching the presidential campaign launch of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) lurch painfully about like a wounded pachyderm in search of an elephant graveyard. Hou’s fall to third place in some polls last week appears early, and it might still be recoverable. But grumbling in his party about replacing him has already begun. Indeed, all indications are that the party that twice gave us Lien Chan (連戰), the most despised politician in Taiwan, as a presidential candidate and later offered voters Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), is arcing along its normal descending trajectory, the North Korean missile test of electoral politics. A KIND OF POLICY PLATFORM Last week the KMT doubled down on this path with Hou’s calls for nuclear power and more death penalty executions, standard KMT fare for decades (the latter is unnecessary since so many potential criminals are likely to die in traffic accidents long before they harm anyone). Apparently KMT policy institutions are not echo chambers so much as mausoleums where dead ideas are embalmed and then periodically put on display. The lack of public policy imagination is obvious. A less obvious facet of KMT ineptitude: with years of speculation that Hou would be their man in 2024, neither Hou nor the party insisted on interesting or experimental public policies to showcase Hou’s greatness in preparation for the showdown. Of course, that is even more true of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Hou’s slide and the media buzz surrounding it are obscuring the truly urgent problem the pro-Taiwan side faces: DPP presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) has not expanded his voter support beyond the party base. In most polls he remains below 40 percent. Independent voters are staying away in droves, and for the moment the young are turning to
July 17 to July 23 When Yeh Ken-chuang (葉根壯) came of age, the traditional skills of architecture and carpentry that had been in his family for four generations were disappearing. After helping his uncle Yeh Teh-ling (葉得令) construct ships, residences and temples for more than a decade, Yeh struck out on his own at the age of 28 in 1960 as a damusi (大木司, chief carpenter), earning his lifelong title “Chief Chuang” (壯司). Around this time, builders in his homeland of Penghu were increasingly using reinforced concrete instead of wood, due to the humid climate. The period also saw a frenzy in temple construction as the economy improved, meaning there was plenty of work for Yeh. Adept in non-structural techniques such as doors, windows and furniture, as well as the intricate carvings and detailed decorations that adorned the structures, Yeh was able to adapt his skills, leading the reconstruction of the historic Hsiliao Daitian Temple (西寮代天宮) on Penghu’s main island in 1963. According to the book Crossing Traditions in Yeh Ken-chuang’s Large-scale Carpentry Skills (宮廟巧藝 :跨越傳統的葉根壯大木作技術), it was Penghu’s first temple that used a purely reinforced concrete structure. Before his life was cut short, Yeh created more than 70 temples and related structures across the various islands of Penghu and left behind more than 230 building plans. Although Yeh could have built temples and other structures on Taiwan proper, he only worked on a handful of projects outside of Penghu because he wanted to be close to his family. CLAN OF CARPENTERS The Yeh family’s woodworking tradition began with Yeh Ma-li (葉媽利), who learned the architecture and carpentry trade from an unknown master on Kinmen. The Yehs trace their roots to Kinmen, although this branch had been living in Penghu since the early 1600s. Yeh Ma-li was Penghu’s chief temple builder between 1860 and
New Taipei City | 14-23 | 10% | |
Hsinchu County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hsinchu City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Taipei City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Miaoli County | 12-22 | 10% | |
Taoyuan City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Keelung City | 15-21 | 10% |
Yunlin County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Taichung City | 14-24 | 0% | |
Nantou County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Changhua County | 14-23 | 0% |
Chiayi County | 13-24 | 0% | |
Chiayi City | 14-25 | 0% | |
Tainan City | 15-22 | 0% | |
Kaohsiung City | 17-23 | 0% | |
Pingtung County | 16-25 | 0% |
Yilan County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hualien County | 16-22 | 10% | |
Taitung County | 17-23 | 10% |
Kinmen County | 11-18 | 0% | |
Penghu County | 17-20 | 0% | |
Lienchiang County | 10-13 | 10% |