Tue, Apr 23, 2024
President-elect William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that he would push forward the net zero transition, and accelerate geothermal and hydrogenic energy developments after taking office next month.Lai made the remarks in a prerecorded video played at the opening session of the Earth Solutions 2024 Susta
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls.As the first front approached, sporad
The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday.The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, sp
US and Philippine forces yesterday launched their largest combat exercises in years in a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing.The annual exercises by the treaty allies are to run until May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel, alo
Four people were dead and 10 others missing following storms that battered southern China, state media said yesterday, with tens of thousands evacuated from areas hit by torrential downpours.Heavy rain has descended upon the vast southern province of Guangdong, swelling rivers and raising fears of s
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT: The bill with US$2 billion in Foreign Military Financing Program funds and US$1.9 billion to replenish defense articles passed the House 385-34 Taiwan is to continue working with the US to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday after the US House of Representatives approved a US$95 billion foreign aid package with funding for Taiwan.The bills were passed with bipartisan support in a rare Saturday
INCENTIVES: A KMT legislator proposed adding combat bonuses for soldiers and removing forms of corporal punishment in an effort to bolster recruitment Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have proposed an amendment to strip benefits from military retirees who have received suspended sentences for espionage-related offenses.China frequently uses retired military officers to “build bridges” with active-duty military personnel in Taiwan, bu
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Allegations that the documents were proof that the former US envoy tried to smuggle alcohol were designed to manipulate public opinion Leaked documents related to customs clearance procedures for vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) that have been circulating on the Internet appear to be an attempt to manipulate public opinion against the government, a source said on Sunday.A post on online platform Baoliao Commune (爆料公社) on Su
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations.Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet
The Legislative Yuan, rather than the Constitutional Court, should decide whether the death penalty should be abolished, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday, adding that the court should not step on the authority of the legislative branch.The court today is to hear lawyers representin
US TRIP The program aims to broaden the horizons of young party members and train them to : be specialists in international affairs The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday unveiled a program to send young political workers to the US this summer to foster diplomatic talent.Applications for the DPP Youth Diplomacy Empowerment Program, which is to take place from July 23 to Aug. 2, start today and run until May 20, DPP int
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.Among adults aged 40 or older w
SEEKING QUICK ACTION: The groups urged the government to implement changes before the next administration, which could struggle on climate policies in its first year in office Environmental advocacy groups yesterday urged the government to adopt four carbon-pricing strategy proposals, including establishing a carbon fee collection scheme, before the new administration takes office next month.To mark Earth Day, the groups — including the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, En
The use of plastic shopping bags nationwide last year dropped by more than half since regulations restricting the use of plastic products were established in 2002, the Ministry of Environment said on Sunday.Taiwan used 9 billion plastic shopping bags last year, down from 20 billion in 2002, ministry
The Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board is in July to publish a preliminary report on road incidents involving electric vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), with the final report to be released in May next year.The board on Nov. 30 last year launched an investigation
National Cheng Kung University professor emeritus of architecture Fu Chao-ching (傅朝卿), photographer Juan I-jong (阮義忠) and the late-poet Lin Heng-tai (林亨泰) have won the National Cultural Award this year, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday.Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) called the recipients an
ENCOURAGING: The electronics segment saw first rise in orders last quarter, while the optoelectronics segment recorded its third consecutive quarterly growth, data show Export orders in the first quarter contracted 2.1 percent annually, the slowest rate in five quarters, to US$133.32 billion, benefiting from growing demand for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) chips and servers, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Performanc
REVERSAL: Wang Yao-ting said he would leave his fate to the next administration, despite calls for his resignation, adding that outages were due to transmission problems Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) president Wang Yao-ting (王耀庭) on Monday said he would remain in his role despite tendering his resignation at the weekend, following power supply issues on Monday last week and a string of power outages in Taoyuan during the week.Wang told a news conference that he wou
The unemployment rate last month edged down 0.01 percentage points from the previous month to 3.38 percent, the lowest figure for March in 24 years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.The figure was also 0.18 percentage points lower than a year earlie
Premier-designate Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) appointment last week of Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) as chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) caught many people off-guard, prompting the question: Who is Peng Jin-lung?The 59-year-old associate dean of National Chengchi University’s College of Commerc
Indonesia and Taiwan use their coastal geography to create their identities and policies. Indonesia’s strategic location between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, its archipelagic status and inheritance of two Southeast Asian thalassocracies inspired the development of its Global Maritime Fulcrum in 20
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Tai
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany.The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament.Chan and Kuderme
Manchester United on Sunday recovered from an astonishing collapse to beat Coventry City on penalties in an FA Cup classic, setting up a second straight final against Manchester City.Erik ten Hag’s men won the shootout at Wembley 4-2, with Rasmus Hojlund scoring the decisive spot-kick after the team
Jude Bellingham on Sunday snatched Real Madrid a dramatic 3-2 El Clasico win over champions Barcelona with a “fundamental” goal to take them 11 points clear at the top of La Liga.Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed the England midfielder’s decisive intervention to take Los Blancos to the brin
The packed stadium shudders as thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans bounce around, chanting the name of their favorite player, but they are not watching AFC Ajax or the Netherlands soccer team. This is darts.Sometimes derided as a game played over a pint in British pubs, darts is a huge deal in the N
REGIONAL TENSIONS: China boosted spending on its military for the 29th straight year, raising it by 6% to US$296bn, while Taiwan spent US$16.6bn, an 11% increase Global military expenditure recorded its steepest increase in over a decade last year, reaching an all-time high of US$2.4 trillion as wars and rising tensions fueled spending across the world, researchers said yesterday.Military spending rose across the globe with particularly large increases in Eu
Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported yesterday, warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity.The UN’s World Meteorological Organization and th
The US appears close to sanctioning an Israeli military unit over alleged human rights violations in the West Bank, a move the Israeli prime minister angrily denounced as “the height of absurdity.”US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such steps when asked by a reporter in Italy about repor
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefl
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese pol
April 22 to April 28The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony.It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens
對話 Dialogue清清:華華,這禮拜六去唱KTV,要不要約你弟弟一起來?好久沒看到他了。Qīngqing: Huáhua, zhè lǐbài liù qù chàng KTV, yào búyào yuē nǐ dìdi yìqǐ lái? Hǎojiǔ méi kàndào tā le.華華:他應該去不了。他最近都在忙期中考,每天都熬夜念書,沒時間出去玩。Huáhua: Tā yīnggāi qùbùliǎo. Tā zuìjìn dōu zài máng qízhōngkǎo, měitiān dōu áoyè niànshū, méi shíjiān chūqù wán. 清清:
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunci
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% |