Wed, Oct 16, 2024
Taiwan is considering setting up renewable power plants in neighboring countries, such as the Philippines, and transporting the electricity back home to meet the green power needs of Taiwanese manufacturers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday.“The green power could be brough
China simultaneously employed cognitive warfare while conducting military drills around Taiwan on Monday, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau insinuated yesterdayThe Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) early on Monday launched military drills code-named “Joint Sword-2024B” involving its
The military is to cut retired general Tsang You-hsia’s (臧幼俠) pension by 75 percent for the next five years after he was found guilty of contravening laws governing cross-strait relations by standing for the Chinese national anthem in Hong Kong, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.On Aug
CHINESE AGGRESSION: Manila accused Beijing’s ‘maritime militia’ of sideswiping a Philippine civilian patrol boat, which sustained minor damage Thousands of US and Filipino troops yesterday launched joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines, after China held huge drills around Taiwan and a Chinese vessel collided with a Philippine patrol boat.The annual Kamandag, or Venom, exercises are focused on defending the north coast of
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused Indian diplomats of backing a pattern of criminal harassment and violence against Canadians, escalating a dispute that began last year, when he suggested Indian agents were involved in the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist in British Columbia
The military detected a record 153 Chinese military aircraft around the nation, the Ministry of National Defense announced today, after China held a day of large-scale drills yesterday.The aircraft were spotted in the 25-hour period until 6am today, the ministry said in a statement — the most for a
RETALIATION: The drill follows Lai’s speech that the PRC has no right to represent Taiwan and that the two sides are not subordinate to each other President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured the public of the government’s commitment to defending Taiwan’s democracy and its national security after China launched a large-scale military exercise around the country.Lai posted his comments on Facebook after convening a high-level national securi
STRONGLY CRITICIZED: The Pentagon called the PLA’s pressure operation irresponsible and destabilizing, while Japan said it expressed its concerns over the drills to China The Taiwan Strait is international waters, not China’s “inland waters” as it claims, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, as expressed gratitude to like-minded countries for voicing concern about China’s military exercise around Taiwan on Monday.The Chinese People’s Liberation Army
HEAVY ACTIVITY: In addition to the military aircraft, the MND said it also detected 14 Chinese navy ships and 12 ‘official’ vessels, which included China Coast Guard ships The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it detected 153 Chinese military aircraft in a 25-hour period that included China’s war games around the nation the previous day, a surge in warplane activity.China said the one-day drill, designated “Joint Sword-2024B,” was a warning against “se
Although China’s “Joint Sword-2024B” military exercises around Taiwan on Monday were apparently shorter than the previous “Joint Sword-2024A” drills, they were intense in terms of swift simulated attacks and deployment of ships and aircraft.The previous large-scale military drills encircled Taiwan o
The government should prepare for the possibility of increased activity from China’s maritime militia following the inclusion of China Coast Guard and other vessels in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) war games around Taiwan on Monday, an academic said yesterday.China Central Television-
The government on Tuesday identified the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) as the winning bidder for an arms procurement package for two types of U.S. attack drones scheduled to be delivered by 2030.According to the notices issued by the Ministry of National Defense Tuesday and posted on the Govern
CRITICAL SUPPORT: Taiwan needs technologies, talent and resources to develop AI, but enterprises with limited capital need government assistance, an official said The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) has mapped out a five-year strategic plan to promote the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to improve the efficiency of government operations, it said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The government AI development strategic plan,
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of melioidosis since Typhoon Krathon struck Taiwan earlier this month and predicted that enterovirus outbreaks would continue for a month, falling below the epidemic threshold in the middle of next month.A man in his 60s in Kaoh
TREND: Consumption of meat and poultry has risen sharply over the past decade due to higher demand for protein from health enthusiasts and ‘Western-style diets’ The nation’s food self-sufficiency rate dropped to 30.3 percent last year, the lowest figure in 18 years, a report by the Ministry of Agriculture showed.The 30.3 percent figure refers to how much of people’s total caloric intake in Taiwan derived from foods produced domestically.Last year’s figure r
Two Taiwanese have been given suspended sentences after being found guilty of illegally recruiting personnel for a Hsinchu-based Chinese high-tech company.The two people, identified by their family names, Lin (林) and Huang (黃), each received a four-month jail term suspended for two years and were or
COUNTRY-BASED: Setting ceilings on sales of the technology would tighten limits that originally targeted China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence amid security risks US officials have discussed capping sales of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia Corp and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ AI capabilities.The new approach would set a ceiling on expo
ASIAN REBOUND: A global steel recovery is being driven by Beijing’s efforts to stimulate growth, which have led to surges in commodity prices, the firm said China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, yesterday raised prices for domestic deliveries next month by as much as NT$1,200 per tonne, matching a nascent rebound in Asian prices amid expectations that an economic stimulus package in China would prop up demand.The latest price hike
The Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show, a sourcing hub for innovative textiles, began at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center yesterday with ecofriendly and functional fabrics on display.Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) spoke at the opening ceremony before spending an hour visiting booths
The government needs a concrete plan to move its energy transition policy forward as it struggles to fulfill its first initiatives to make renewable energy a significant contributor to the country’s energy mix by next year. Meanwhile, it is facing new challenges to the plan amid rapidly growing powe
National defense plans are generally focused on preparing to defend against the military aggression of an adversary. In the case of Taiwan, such plans center on China, which possesses a dramatically larger and more powerful military. However, a recent tabletop exercise conducted by the Taiwan Center
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long tried to distort the meaning of UN Resolution 2758, signed on Oct. 25, 1971, attempting to link it with Beijing’s “one China principle” to strangle Taiwan’s ability to engage in international events. However, recently, that subterfuge has elicited the atten
LONG WAIT: The Yankees, owners of 27 World Series titles, are chasing their first appearance in a World Series since they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 Mark Vientos on Monday smashed a grand slam and Francisco Lindor homered as well as the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 to level the National League Championship Series 1-1.Vientos’ four-run blast in a determined second inning at-bat helped the New York Mets rebound from a 9-0 drubbin
The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions on Monday defeated the Rakuten Monkeys 8-5 in the opening round of the playoffs to advance to the championship series of the CPBL, where they are to play the CTBC Brothers.With a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, the Lions, playing in front of a home crowd of 7,21
Germany on Monday secured a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over old rivals the Netherlands, while France won in Belgium and Italy continued their revival.Jamie Leweling of VfB Stuttgart scored on his debut to give Germany victory over the Netherlands in Munich and gua
Some fine bowling from Amelia Kerr and Eden Carson on Monday propelled New Zealand into the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup with a 54-run thrashing of Pakistan in their final group match.Off-spinner Carson, who was named player of the match, took 2-7 from her three overs, while Kerr ended w
REFORMS NEEDED: While tourism has rebounded, consumption and retail spending remain sluggish, while stock listings have dried up and capital flight is a challenge Hong Kong is expected to announce measures to boost the territory’s economy in its annual policy address today, including slashing liquor tariffs, as it seeks to revive the financial hub, which has been struggling to recover since the COVID-19 pandemic.Hong Kong’s small and open economy has felt the
A member of chart-topping K-pop group NewJeans yesterday tearfully testified to South Korean lawmakers as part of an inquiry into workplace harassment, amid a boardroom drama over her super producer. In recent years, South Korea’s K-pop industry has become a global juggernaut powered by the success
North Korea blew up sections of roads in its own territory that are part of links once used to connect the southern part of the peninsula with the north, in a show of defiance after it accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang.North Korea detonated bombs north of its eastern and western borders
Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua (唐華) said in an interview with The Economist released on Double Ten Day that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is enacting an “anaconda strategy” to subdue Taiwan, and that the nation’s armed forces are being stretched thin. “[The Chinese armed forces] are ready to b
Forensic pathologist Philippe Boxho likes to ask people “why shouldn’t we laugh about death?” But gallows humor is just one of the ingredients that the surprise literary sensation brings to his macabre line of storytelling.In 33 years as a medical examiner in Belgium’s eastern Liege region, Boxho ha
The Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (台灣國際酷兒影展) is back for the eleventh year with its boldest lineup to date, emphasizing trans and non-binary stories and encompassing the full scope of queer experiences through queer cinema.“The festival looks at which LGBTQ+ issues are being discussed aro
With the demands of academic life, do you frequently find yourself struggling to maintain focus and alertness in the afternoon hours? If so, this may be a sign that your body is in need of a brief respite—a nap.The tendency to feel sleepy in the afternoon is largely attributed to our internal mechan
Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been awarded to individuals and organizations for work leading to great advances for humanity, in line with the wishes of inventor Alfred Nobel.The 2024 winners have been announced between Oct. 7 and yesterday, as follows. Medicine prizeThe Nobel Prize in physiology
對話 Dialogue清清:你在聽什麼?聽得那麼開心!Qīngqing: Nǐ zài tīng shénme? Tīng de nàme kāixīn!華華:我在聽原住民的音樂,跟平常的流行歌曲感覺很不一樣。Huáhua: Wǒ zài tīng yuánzhùmín de yīnyuè, gēn píngcháng de liúxíng gēqǔ gǎnjué hěn bù yíyàng.清清:怎麼突然開始有了這個興趣?以前都沒聽你說過。Qīngqing: Zěnme túrán kāishǐ yǒule zhèige xìngqù? Yǐqián dōu méi tīng nǐ shuō
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% |