Sun, Oct 02, 2022
Washington is evaluating a transfer of weapons systems requested by Taiwan, according to a copy of a report by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) that is to be submitted to lawmakers tomorrow. Asked whether the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile would be among the weapons systems, the ministry refused to comment, but said that it would not rule out announcing the specifics later this year. The ministry’s domestically sourced high-priority military investments include submarines, next-generation light frigates, rescue ships, advanced trainer jets and infantry fighting vehicles, the report said. Planned deals include F-16A and F-16B jet performance upgrades, navigation and targeting pods, precision-guided munitions, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (known as HIMARS), Harpoon coastal defense missile systems and MQ-9B drones, it said. Last year, the ministry told Chinese-language media that it expressed interest in US-made AGM-158 missiles, which can be launched from jets and have a range of 370km. The US probably had concerns that the transfer of long-range weapons could provoke China, Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). However, China’s increasingly mature aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships pose a growing security threat, helping Taipei make the case for obtaining the missiles, he said. Aegis Combat System-equipped warships, precision-guided munitions and stealth technologies might become necessary for Taiwan’s defense, and the ministry should consider requesting them, he said. Meanwhile, the navy is on track to procure nine more Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, so that it would have 12 warships of that class by 2026, the report said. The shipbuilding project is funded via the Sea and Air Combat Power Improvement Special Budget of NT$236.9 billion (US$7.46 billion), it said, adding that the remaining 10 ships on the order would cost more than NT$69.2 billion. The class’ lead ship, the ROCS
Hong Kong’s leader yesterday promised to revive the territory’s struggling economy as the Chinese Communist Party marked its 73rd anniversary in power under strict COVID-19 controls. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) said in a speech that COVID-19 “still overshadows” the territory of more than 7 million people, but promised to revive the struggling economy and “safeguard people’s livelihood” as travel and other disease prevention measures are eased. Lee, who took office in July, is a former police chief who oversaw a crackdown that imprisoned pro-democracy activists, shut down a prominent newspaper and triggered an exodus of residents to Taiwan, the US and the UK. “Hong Kong now undergoes the critical transition from stability to prosperity,” said Lee, who wore a red mask the color of the Chinese national flag and was flanked by masked dignitaries at a downtown convention center. “I have full confidence in the future of Hong Kong, and so should you,” he said. Lee invoked the slogan “patriots administering Hong Kong,” a reference to official efforts to block pro-democracy activists from holding public office. He said a speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a July 1 visit would be his administration’s “blueprint for governance.” On Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) promised at a National Day reception in Beijing to keep economic performance “within an appropriate range” despite the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported. The US, the UK and other governments have said that Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong in response to pro-democracy protests that began in 2019 breached its promise of autonomy for the former British colony. Washington and other governments have imposed sanctions on some officials associated with the crackdown and withdrawn trade and other privileges that treated Hong Kong as a separate territory from China. In Taiwan, members of the Taiwan People’s Communist Party
‘NO JUSTIFICATION’: Twenty people died in an attack on a convoy of civilian cars in eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said, blaming ‘the occupiers’ The US would almost certainly discover ahead of time if Russia was preparing a nuclear strike on Ukraine, and Moscow might very well want it known, nuclear weapons experts said on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons if Russia’s “territorial integrity” or existence is threatened. Moscow’s declaration on Friday that it was annexing four partly occupied regions of Ukraine potentially means Russia could consider responding to attacks on the claimed territory with a nuclear strike. Should such an escalation materialize, it would probably be in the form of a smaller tactical nuclear weapon, likely launched on a short-range Iskander ballistic missile, the experts said. While military analysts downplay Moscow’s threats for now and US officials say they have seen no activity indicating such plans, Western defense and intelligence agencies are closely watching to see if real atomic threats emerge. Preparations for an attack would be evident, said Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland. A 2017 report by the institute maps out 47 nuclear storage sites across Russia: 12 national-level facilities and 35 base facilities. These are monitored constantly by intelligence and military surveillance satellites of the US and other countries, he said. They can even be watched closely by commercial satellites, as shown by the widespread, regularly updated imagery of activities at North Korean nuclear facilities, he added. Podvig said Russia has deployed its strategic or long-range nuclear warheads in the field — on missiles, bombers and submarines. However, its nonstrategic or tactical nuclear weapons, which number as many as 2,000, are stored and not installed on delivery vehicles, such as the Iskander, Podvig said. “There are no Iskanders roaming around with nuclear-armed warheads. These weapons are in storage,” he said. Mark Cancian, a former official in the US defense and energy departments who worked on
Chinese hackers have allegedly tampered with widely used software distributed by a small Canadian customer service company, in what cybersecurity experts see as another example of a “supply chain compromise,” which was made infamous by the hack on US networking company SolarWinds. US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said in a blog post that it had discovered malicious software being distributed by Vancouver-based Comm100, which provides customer service products, such as chat bots and social media management tools, to a range of clients around the globe. The scope and scale of the hack was not immediately clear. In a message, Comm100 said it on Thursday fixed its software and that more details would be forthcoming. CrowdStrike researchers believe the malicious software was in circulation for a couple of days, but would not say how many companies had been affected, divulging only that “entities across a range of industries” were hit. A person familiar with the matter said a dozen firms are known to be affected, although the actual figure could be much higher. CrowdStrike CEO Adam Meyers said that the hackers were suspected to be Chinese, citing their patterns of behavior, language in the code and that one affected firm had repeatedly been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. The Chinese government rejected the claim. In an e-mail, Chinese embassy in the US spokesman Liu Pengyu (劉鵬宇) said officials in Beijing “firmly oppose and crack down on all forms of cyber hacking in accordance with the law” and that the US “has been loudly active in fabricating and spreading lies about so-called ‘Chinese hackers.’”
DEFENSE-READY: The armament of the ‘Yushan’ allows for amphibious combat operations, the head of a firm involved in the ship’s construction said The navy yesterday took delivery of the first locally developed and built naval ship of more than 10,000 tonnes in a ceremony in Kaohsiung presided over by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The ROCS Yushan, an amphibious transport dock, was the result of a government-initiated indigenous shipbuilding project seeking to establish autonomy over national defense, Tsai said. She thanked CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船), the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and the navy for their contributions. The military needs the best equipment to uphold peace and defend Taiwan as it faces military threats from China, Tsai said. The 153m long and 23m wide Yushan has a displacement of 10,600 tonnes and can travel at up to 22.1 knots (41kph), CSBC chairman Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆) said. The ship boasts stealth capabilities and protection against electromagnetic pulse shockwaves, Cheng said. It has one 76mm gun and two Phalanx close-in weapons systems, and is equipped with 32 naval Sky Sword II anti-aircraft missiles, Cheng said. The armament enables the ship to conduct unescorted amphibious combat operations, Cheng said. During combat, the Yushan can be used as an amphibious support unit, while in peacetime, it can be used as a disaster relief unit and emergency medical aid station, in line with the navy’s “disaster relief during peacetime, combat duties during wartime” guiding principle, Tsai said. The Yushan is equipped with five landing craft that can conduct beachhead landings, Cheng said. The landing craft can travel at up to 21 knots, far faster than the navy initially requested, he said. The Yushan can carry two high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles or one 15-tonne vehicle, he added. Tsai said that many navy officers have applied to transfer to the Yushan, showing their readiness to face the challenge of operating the new ship. “If we have faith, we can overcome any challenges, no matter what they are,” Tsai said. The navy said
‘DEMOCRACY CHIPS’: The meeting, which also included officials from Japan and South Korea, came amid increasing calls for cooperation on supply chain challenges The US convened a preliminary meeting of a working group with East Asian countries, including Taiwan, to discuss semiconductor supply chain resilience and cooperation, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday. “We exchanged views at a first preliminary meeting and hope everyone can discuss how to collaborate in the future on supply chain problems like the ones we recently encountered,” Wang told reporters in Taipei. The global chip shortage, which over the past two years has wreaked havoc on supply chains and forced automakers to halt production, thrust chip powerhouse Taiwan into the spotlight and made supply chain management a bigger priority for governments around the world. The preliminary meeting of the working group — dubbed “Chip 4” — also included representatives from South Korea and Japan, Wang said. Details about the frequency of future meetings, including their schedule and topics, were not addressed, she said. The countries are home to critical players in the global semiconductor industry, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker; South Korean memorychip giants Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix; and key Japanese suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last month told visiting US lawmakers that Taiwan is committed to ensuring its partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors, which she called “democracy chips,” and urged Taiwan-friendly governments to boost collaboration amid intensified threats from China. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country’s top representative in Taiwan attended a preliminary meeting of “the US East Asian Semiconductor Supply Chain Resiliency Working Group” on Wednesday, hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The AIT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kyung Kye-hyun, who heads Samsung’s chip business, last month said that his company has conveyed concerns about the proposed Chip 4 alliance, including the need for South Korea to
PRIDE AND FURY: Supporters of the Taiwan People’s Communist Party sang in Tainan, while Taiwan loyalists in Kaohsiung vowed to ‘protect Taiwan until death’ Two small Taiwanese groups at the far ends of the debate over relations with Beijing marked the National Day of the People’s Republic of China yesterday with flag raisings and flag burnings — opposite responses at a time of rising tension over the Taiwan Strait. Oct. 1 marks the day that Mao Zedong (毛澤東) proclaimed the People’s Republic of China in 1949, with the defeated Republic of China government fleeing to Taiwan at the end of that year, where — after democratic reforms — it remains to this day, neither recognizing the other. China’s national day is not officially marked in any way in Taiwan, which celebrates its National Day, the founding of the Republic of China, on Oct. 10. However, some small groups in Taiwan do mark China’s national day, with either pride at being Chinese or fury at Beijing’s threats against Taiwan, especially after China stepped up war games near Taiwan in August. In a rural part of Tainan, the Taiwan People’s Communist Party gathered about 200 people, mostly older people, to sing China’s national anthem and raise the country’s flag on what the party referred to in a statement as “a sacred part of China’s territory.” Lin Te-wang (林德旺), the chairman of the fringe party, which has no elected officials, said that China is not a threat, despite August’s large-scale military activities, which were condemned by all of Taiwan’s mainstream parties. “Military exercises are good for Taiwan because they show the majesty of China’s military force internationally,” Lin, 67, said. At the other end of the spectrum, the pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party burned a Chinese flag yesterday on a boat off Taiwan’s south coast, in an area of sea where China staged its August drills, shouting slogans such as “protect Taiwan to the death.” Party Chairman Chen Yi-chi (陳奕齊), while on the boat in the
VOICING SUPPORT: The German ambassador to the US said that the country should not allow China to move goalposts to isolate Taiwan or break international law Relations with Germany continue to warm as German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Klaus-Peter Willsch, leading a six-person delegation, left Germany for a six-day visit to Taiwan yesterday. The visit is yet another move by Berlin this year in support of Taiwan. The German Bundestag in May unanimously passed a resolution to support Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO as an observer. German Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach added his support for Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Assembly this year. German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock in August voiced support for Taiwan in light of Beijing’s military response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. A progress report on Germany’s policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region released last month said that the country was against any non-peaceful change to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait. It was the first time that Taiwan was mentioned in a progress report about the policy. Taiwan and Germany also signed an air services accord in July last year that saw flights between the two countries increase from seven to 11 flights per week, and laid the basis for EVA Airways to launch a new direct route from Taipei to Munich next month. Democratic Progressive Party legislators twice last month visited Germany to deepen Taiwan-Germany parliamentary relations, while the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday founded the Taiwan and German Parliamentary Friendship Association. “We cannot allow China to move goalposts to isolate Taiwan, let alone to break international law,” German Ambassador to the US Emily Haber wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) might allow Chinese veterinary experts to help treat Taipei Zoo’s male giant panada Tuan Tuan (團團), council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. After having at least three seizures in August, Tuan Tuan was on Sept. 23 found to have a brain lesion. Chen made the comments on Thursday, a day after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) offered help from Chinese experts. Chen said the council had told the zoo that it could request permission for Chinese panda experts to visit should the panda require outside help, and assistance would be provided by government agencies. The panda is being treated by a team of veterinary professionals, and the zoo is communicating with Chinese experts regarding the panda’s condition and pharmaceutical therapy, as well as other foreign experts who have experience in dealing with seizures in animals, he said. The zoo informed the Bifengxia panda center in Sichuan, China, of Tuan Tuan’s health problems, and the center’s experts are highly concerned and willing to help, Zhu previously told a routine news conference. The pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan (圓圓) have been a key attraction at Taipei Zoo and a favorite of Taiwanese children ever since they were gifted by China to Taiwan in 2008, she said. Experts from Taiwan and China were able to encourage the two pandas to mate, and Yuan Yuan gave birth to Yuan Zai (圓仔) in 2013 and Yuan Bao (圓寶) in 2020, she said. The TAO wishes Tuan Tuan a speedy recovery so that it can continue to be a companion to friends in Taiwan, she said.
Of the 13 schools that received the “Model Schools for Promoting Reading Habits in Rural Areas” award on Wednesday, Yongan Junior High School in Taoyuan has seen the most significant improvement in student grades, it said. The Association of Literacy and Education Taiwan presented the award. It has since last year worked with corporations to support schools in rural areas to develop diverse and innovative education programs that promote good reading habits. To date, 3,114 students from 34 schools have benefited from the program. “Rural areas have inherent difficulties in stimulating culture,” Yongan Junior High School dean Gu Ju-yu (古如毓) said. The school has tried to foster reading habits by using tablet computers, Gu said, adding that technology must be used to shorten the educational divide between urban and rural areas. When the program first started, the school was short on tablet computers and at one point had to ask for donations of second-hand tablets, Gu said. The program gained traction after a Ministry of Education program was established to provide funding to improve or establish computer networks at schools, Gu said. The school first encouraged using tablets for reading during self-study sessions before establishing a dedicated weekly digital reading class, Gu said. “The results of our program were incredible,” Gu said, adding that the number of students receiving “A” grades increased significantly, while those with “C” grades decreased. Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of Electrical Engineering and one of the program’s founders, said he had seen many passionate educators who lacked the resources to increase reading skills. About 30 percent of students in participating schools no longer have to receive remedial education for Mandarin or math, Yeh said, urging more corporations to help the association. Separately, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said that reading habits are critical in acclimatizing students to more rigorous learning
A representative of Taiwan’s South American ally Paraguay urged the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to include Taiwan in its mechanisms and activities on the third day of the UN agency’s triennial assembly. The 41st edition of the ICAO assembly started on Tuesday and runs through Friday next week at the agency’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Taiwan was not invited to attend. Speaking at a technical mission meeting on Thursday, Paraguayan National Directorate of Civil Aviation President Felix Kanazawa said that Taiwan’s involvement should be considered if ICAO aims to effectively implement its Global Plan for Aviation Safety and other technical activities. Eighteen international routes and four domestic routes operate within the Taipei Flight Information Region overseen by the Taiwanese government, Kanazawa said. In 2019, more than 1.85 million air traffic control services were provided in the Taipei region, benefiting almost 72 million incoming and outgoing passengers, he said. US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also called for Taiwan’s participation in ICAO on the opening day of the assembly. In addition, 217 parliamentarians and lawmakers who are members of Formosa Club chapters in Latin America and the Caribbean called on ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano to invite Taiwan to the assembly through a joint letter, petitions and on social media, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. The 217 Formosa Club members come from 16 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, the ministry said. Taiwan has not been a UN member since losing its seat in 1971, and is therefore not an ICAO member. Taiwan last attended the ICAO’s triennial event in 2013 when ties between Taiwan and China were warmer.
‘POLITICALLY NEUTRAL’: Officials said that orders and EUAs are tied to the CECC, so it should not be dismissed at once, but it can be downgraded as conditions allow The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 43,040 new local COVID-19 infections, an increase of 12.8 percent from a week earlier, and outlined why it should not yet be dismissed. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman, said 43,040 new local cases, 45 imported cases and 48 deaths were confirmed yesterday. The daily local caseload was slightly lower than the day before, but there were 4,883 cases, or about 12.8 percent, more than Saturday last week, Chuang said. New daily local cases have been higher than the week-earlier numbers for six consecutive days, CECC data showed. Chuang said that 170 new moderate cases and 57 severe cases were confirmed yesterday, and as of Friday, an accumulated 6,411,864 local infections have been reported this year, with 28,187 among them moderate to severe, including 10,247 deaths. He added that 99.56 percent of all cases were asymptomatic or mild. A total of 7,136 vaccine doses were administered to children aged six months to four years on Friday, with the first and second dose vaccination rates of the age group reaching 39.6 and 9 percent respectively, he said. Separately, as border control measures would mostly be lifted and a quarantine mandate scrapped by Oct. 13, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers asked if the CECC should be dismissed, adding that otherwise it might become another “campaign headquarters” for former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), the Democratic Progressive Party’s Taipei mayoral candidate. Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that “somebody must be dreaming” when he was asked about the “campaign headquarters” fears. Many COVID-19 prevention guidelines, administrative orders, and emergency use authorizations (EUA) for vaccines, antiviral drugs and rapid test kits are “tied to” the CECC, so it should not be dismissed at once, but it can be downgraded as the COVID-19
‘NO IMMUNITY DEBT’: A CDC official said that with the border to reopen, the risk of flu infection is expected to increase, so people should get vaccinated soon The government-funded seasonal influenza vaccination program was launched yesterday, with Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) saying that there are 6.3 million doses available, so eligible recipients should get vaccinated as soon as possible. There were fewer flu cases in the past two years as people applied non-pharmaceutical interventions and practiced social distancing and crowd control amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but many experts believe the flu season will be serious this year due to an “immunity debt” caused by a lack of exposure to the virus, Hsueh said. “Some people say we will eventually pay off the immunity debt [with a worse-than-normal outbreak], but I do not agree,” he said. “If we practice preventive measures thoroughly, the infections we missed will not come looking for us.” The ministry has 6.3 million doses of quadrivalent flu vaccines available for the government-funded program this year, enough for about one-quarter of the nation, he said. Protection from a flu shot can last about a year, so people should get vaccinated yearly to reduce the risk of infection, serious complications for themselves and to protect the community, Hsueh said. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said that epidemic monitoring data showed that flu infections have been increasing in the past few weeks, but they are still low compared with flu season. “As the national border will be gradually reopened, the risk of infection is expected to increase, so we encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it takes up to two weeks to build immunity after a flu shot,” Chou said, adding that the peak of the flu season is usually around the Lunar New Year holiday. The vaccinations are offered in two phases, he said. People eligible for the first phase are those at increased risks of exposure or severe flu complications, such
With a seasonal northeasterly system expected to set in, the scorching heat in northern Taiwan is likely to dissipate, with daytime temperatures to fall 7°C or 8°C in the next few days, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. From Wednesday, highs in northern Taiwan are forecast to range from 25°C to 26°C, down from 34°C to 35°C in the past week. Due to the seasonal wind system, brief showers are possible for areas north of Taoyuan, as well as northeastern Taiwan, while sporadic rainfall is forecast for Hualien and Taitung counties, the CWB said. Elsewhere, there is expected to be minimal impact from the seasonal winds, with daytime temperatures forecast to be little changed next week, it said. The agency issued heat warnings at 5pm yesterday, with a Pacific high-pressure system expected to continue to blanket Taiwan. It issued an “Orange Signal” for Chiayi City, meaning daily maximum temperatures would reach 36°C for three consecutive days, while Taipei, New Taipei City, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Taitung County were under a “Yellow Signal” in which daily maximum temperatures reach 36°C. In other parts of the country, daytime temperatures are expected to be 33°C to 35°C, it said. People taking part in outdoor activities should stay hydrated and take precautionary measures to avoid sunburn, it said. Despite the stable weather, windward areas in southeastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula would have brief showers, the bureau said, adding that showers are also possible in mountainous areas in the west, but the precipitation is expected to be limited. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Roke was centered about 2,350km northeast of Taipei as of 8am yesterday and could lose momentum soon, the CWB said. The storm, which was moving toward Japan, is unlikely to affect Taiwan, it said.
An eco-friendly brick made from oyster shells and furnace slag that was the brainchild of academics at National Taipei University of Technology has earned Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certification for being safe, circular and responsibly made. The brick was an innovation of Shao Wen-cheng (邵文政), a lecturer in the university’s Innovative Green Building Materials Research and Promotion Center, and Cheng Ta-wui (鄭大偉) and Lee Wei-hao (李韋皞), who teach in the Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering, the university said in a news release on Friday. They mix powdered oyster shells, slag from a steel plant’s blast furnace and lye, and put the mixture in a mold to produce the bricks, the research team said. It is one of the first times anywhere in the world that a patented university product has gained C2C certification, the university said. During a visit to Makung Junior High School in Penghu County in 2019 to raise awareness of circular economy concepts, Shao discovered piles of oyster shells abandoned by local oyster farmers outside the campus, he told reporters in a telephone interview. Chuang hao-chih (莊浩志), the junior-high school’s director of general affairs who was guiding Shao during his visit, said that the shells were trash, but the professor saw value in them, Shao said. “To me, those shells were not garbage. They were actually building materials,” he said. To demonstrate how the circular economy works, Shao asked Chuang to send him the shells, from which the team made bricks and sent them back to Chuang to use at the school. Shao had other bricks from the project evaluated by organizations that specialize in sustainability, including the Green Building Materials Mark and the Taiwan branch of the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency. It was their positive feedback and the support of Kuo Yang Construction that encouraged the team to apply for top-tier C2C certification, he said. C2C
Kneeling before a chalk star outside his tumbledown house, an old man performed a ritual to rid himself of evil spirits — which many superstitious Turks believe exist. Perched behind the camera, director Metin Kuru tried to encourage the actor to convey the sheer agony of being possessed by a genie. However, there would not be many takes, because Kuru needs to finish his film fast to feed Turkey’s voracious appetite for low-budget horror flicks, with a new supernatural chiller released every week. “At the end of the day, I try to produce films with as few technical issues as possible,” Kuru said between scenes of Muhr-u Musallat 2 — Yasak Dugun (Sealed Invasion 2 — Forbidden Wedding). Filming many of the scenes in the dark helps. “The color palette of horror movies is not as varied, which allows filmmakers to shoot with cheaper cameras, less light and smaller crews,” Kuru said. This year alone, 60 new homegrown horror movies are to hit screens in Turkey, where demand for entertainment has not waned despite — or maybe because of — the economic crises gripping the country. Few horror films were made until the 1990s, their growth coinciding with the rise of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party. Its coming to power in 2002 after decades of more secular governments helped let the genie out of the bottle, with more religious Turks — and plenty of secular ones — lapping up superstitious tales that were previously frowned on. Film critic Gizem Simsek Kaya said there might be a link between the horror boom and broader social shifts in Turkey. “The drive to brush aside superstition and come closer to science [of modern Turkey’s founders] began to regress in the late 1990s,” Kaya said. Religious-themed horror movies became popular with Buyu (The Spell) in 2004, and reached an even
For editors at the Kashmir Walla, fact-checking a story used to involve a flurry of online research before press time. So when an 18-month Internet and phone shutdown began in the Indian Himalayan region in 2019, they had to improvise. “We used to leave blank spaces in news stories when we couldn’t verify certain facts. Every week, a team member would fly to Delhi and fill in the blanks,” said Yash Raj Sharma, an editor with the weekly magazine. It was one of numerous headaches for the region’s journalists. Unable to use his mobile phone, Sharma, 25, recalled driving to a telephone booth at Srinagar airport to dictate an 800-word news story to a friend in Delhi. “That incident will remain with me forever as a memory of working during the longest communication and Internet shutdown,” said Sharma, who also used to call friends in Delhi to ask them to read out and respond to his e-mails. India revoked the special status of its portion of Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir, on Aug. 5, 2019, in a bid to fully integrate its only Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country. Anticipating major unrest, authorities imposed a communications blackout, cutting off phone and Internet connections. The shutdown lasted until Feb. 5 last year, when 4G mobile data services were reinstated in the region. Slow-speed Internet was restored a year earlier, but with limited access. For older Kashmiris, it was a journey back in time to the pre-Internet days of their youth of letters and landlines. For the young, it felt like “living in the stone age,” said Umer Maqbool, 25, who took out a bank loan to buy cameras and other equipment to set up a videography business in August 2019 — just as the shutdown began. He got no bookings until the Internet was restored, and
ON THE EDGE: Calling it ‘another ugly day to end an ugly quarter,’ an analyst said that many feared the Fed’s relentless rate hikes might push the economy into a recession The S&P 500 on Friday closed the books on its steepest September decline in two decades, skidding across the finish line of a tumultuous quarter fraught with historically hot inflation, rising interest rates and recession fears. All three major indexes veered to a sharply lower end, after quashing a brief rally early in the session. The S&P and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched their third consecutive weekly declines, and all three indexes posted their second straight monthly losses. In the first nine months of the year, Wall Street suffered three quarterly declines in a row, the longest losing streak for the S&P and the NASDAQ since 2008 and the Dow’s longest quarterly slump in seven years. “It’s another ugly day to end an ugly quarter in what’s looking like a very ugly year,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha, Nebraska. “Investors will look back and realize this was the year the Fed pulled a total 180 on their views on inflation and quickly turned incredibly hawkish.” RATTLED The US Federal Reserve has rattled markets by engaging in its most relentless series of interest rate hikes in decades to rein in stubbornly high inflation, which has many market participants eyeing key economic data for signs of a looming recession. “The realization that the Fed is doing anything they can to combat 40-year-high inflation has investors worried they will push the economy over the edge and into recession,” Detrick added. The US Department of Commerce’s personal consumption expenditures report did little to assuage those fears, showing that while consumers continue to spend, the prices they are paying have accelerated, drifting further beyond the Fed’s inflation target and all but ensuring the central bank’s hawkish monetary policy would continue longer than investors had hoped. DIRE WARNINGS Recession fears also echoed through dire warnings from Nike Inc and
Taipei mayoral election campaigns have been clouded by issues concerning Taiwan’s COVID-19 response and vaccine procurement over the past two years. As Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) was head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for more than 900 days during the COVID-19 pandemic, his political opponents have been attacking him for what they called “poor COVID-19 responses.” The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), a former Taipei deputy mayor, have aggressively and negatively campaigned against Chen. Since Chen announced his bid for mayor in July, he has been called a “runaway CECC head,” criticized for cutting quarantine time and causing local COVID-19 outbreaks, branded incapable of securing enough vaccines last year, and accused of blocking vaccine purchases, concealing vaccine prices and wasting taxpayer money by disposing of expired vaccines. Huang said that Chen was “murdering for money,” as she claimed the government had blocked the purchase of imported vaccines to profit from Taiwan’s homegrown Medigen COVID-19 vaccine. Chiang also said Chen showed “disregard for human lives” and “had no empathy for the victims’ families,” while the KMT legislative caucus last week filed a complaint against him for alleged dereliction of duty in purchasing COVID-19 vaccines. When the local outbreak of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 began in April, the KMT consistently called for Chen to step down as CECC head due to his “poor COVID-19 response,” but it criticized him for “running away” when he resigned in July after the infections stabilized. Daily local caseloads dropped to about 20,000 from the peak of about 90,000, while antiviral drug prescriptions and COVID-19 hospital bed vacancy rates were high. The KMT legislative caucus in July 2020 urged the government to allocate more funding for domestic COVID-19 vaccine
Washington’s “one China” policy has not changed and the US does not take a position on Taiwan’s sovereignty issue, a US Department of State spokesperson has said. He said that this has been the principle of US policy toward Taiwan since 1979, and the policy has remained in effect. He also said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has privately made this clear to Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅). The US’ “one China” policy and China’s “one China” principle recognize China as the “representative of China.” The two diverge on the issue of Taiwan: Beijing asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, whereas Washington does not take a position on the sovereignty issue. This much was revealed in declassified cables from 1982 regarding the “six assurances” that were posted on the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Web site two years ago: “There has been no change in the US’ longstanding position on the issue of sovereignty over Taiwan.” However, given that China has become more aggressive and intimidating in the Taiwan Strait, the US has started to express its “position” on sovereignty over Taiwan. Beijing has always claimed that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 solved the question of Chinese representation while affirming that Taiwan is a part of China. A few days ago at the general debate of the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden for the first time mentioned the situation across the Taiwan Strait. He said that the US seeks to uphold peace and stability and remains committed to the “one China” policy, which has helped prevent conflict for 40 years, and that the US continues to oppose unilateral changes to the “status quo” by either side. In a previous interview, Biden said: “Taiwan makes their own judgements about their independence; we are not encouraging their being independent;
After the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Taiwan policy act (TPA), the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee introduced its own version. The House version restored parts of the Senate version that were deemed controversial and had been deleted. The gesture was friendly toward Taiwan, but it need not be interpreted as supportive of Taiwanese sovereignty, or cause any turbulence in relations with China. As the TPA’s initiator, US Senator Robert Menendez said that the bill would not change US policy toward Taiwan. Nevertheless, the TPA conveys a more lucid message about the US’ willingness to assist Taiwan. One of the restored parts is the naming of a Taiwan representative office, which has been debated in other countries since Lithuania established such an office last year. As early as last November, the European Commission said that Lithuania’s approval for a Taiwanese representative office would not go against its “one China” policy. The US also supported Lithuania on this matter, but when the issue became its own, the US wavered and left Lithuania to endure pressure from China alone. How can that be justified? The American Institute in Taiwan uses the name “Taiwan.” As for calling Taiwan a “major non-NATO ally,” former US president George W. Bush made Taiwan a de facto non-NATO ally in 2003. The TPA only specifies it through the bill. The Taiwan Relations Act also changed phrasing of arms sales to take a more deterrence-oriented approach. Some critics believe that the US is to sell offensive weapons to Taiwan, which would agitate Beijing and cause turbulence in the Taiwan Strait. However, who has hoarded a great number of offensive weapons and threatens Taiwan every day? Would it not be more reasonable that Beijing be asked to stop the menace and its development of offensive weapons? Under the threat
‘ON A MISSION’: A’ja Wilson was awarded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player title after scoring 19 points to help her team earn the biggest win in a gold-medal game A’ja Wilson scored 19 points, Kelsey Plum added 17 and the US beat China 83-61 yesterday to win their fourth consecutive gold medal at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. This is one of the most dominant teams in the US’ storied history in the World Cup, at which the Americans have won 11 gold medals. They have now won four straight gold medals for the first time ever. This was also the biggest win in a gold-medal game, surpassing the 20-point wins that the US had twice accomplished. “It feels great,” said Wilson, who was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “We came here on a mission, we got it. We got gold. Now we’re going home with some hardware,” she said. “It feels great to us. Australia was great to us. I didn’t see any kangaroos, but it’s okay because we are leaving with a gold.” What started with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi has now been passed down to Wilson and Breanna Stewart. With Alyssa Thomas the oldest player at 30, the domination could continue for years to come. As they have done all tournament, the US did it on both ends of the court, playing stellar defense and using a high-powered offense. The US (8-0) finished the World Cup averaging 98.8 points — just short of the mark held by the 1994 team that averaged 99.1. They won by an average of 40.8 points, topping the mark held by the 2010 team. The game was a sellout with nearly 16,000 spectators — the biggest crowd to attend a Women’s World Cup game since the inaugural tournament in 1953 in Chile. Led by Li Yueru and Wu Tongtong, China hung around. The Chinese team trailed 33-28 late in the second quarter before the US went on a 10-2 run highlighted
More than an hour after Cal Raleigh ended the longest playoff drought in baseball, he was back on the field with his teammates, circling the perimeter of the field to acknowledge the tens of thousands of fans who still stuck around. The celebration was more akin to winning something big in October, rather than a victory on the last day of September. But after 21 years, the Seattle Mariners could be excused for going a little over the top upon their return to the playoffs. “It’s better than maybe what you could dream it to be,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. Raleigh hit a game-winning home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Mariners clinched a wild-card berth in the American League with a 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, hit a 3-2 pitch from Domingo Acevedo (3-4) just inside the right-field foul pole for a solo homer that sent the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001. “I remember the moment when I knew it was fair and looking at the team and everybody’s jumping. It was just crazy,” Raleigh said. Seattle’s celebration on the field lasted more than 10 minutes as fans and players lifted themselves from the burden of two decades without seeing the playoffs. That was just the start. Nearly an hour later, and with the stands still mostly full, Servais and his team were back on the field after a wild clubhouse celebration. He grabbed the microphone and reminded the crowd — colorfully — that when he arrived along with Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto seven years ago, the mission was to “end the ... drought.” “We did it. These players behind me are special. They care.
A game that is easy to pick up and more accessible than tennis, pickleball is all the rage in New York, as the sport snags investors and grows increasingly professionalized across the US. On a recent weekday evening at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, dozens of players ranging from thirty-somethings to retirees shared the four new courts at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which recently replaced the bocce ball courts. Teams formed spontaneously as players waited their turn at the park space that offers a unique view of Manhattan’s brightly lit skyscrapers. “You come here, put your paddle over there and you get to play with a range of people, beginner and intermediate,” 52-year-old Amy Zhao said with a smile. With its neon perforated plastic ball, flat paddle rackets and obligatory underhand serve, pickleball is a kind of “mini tennis,” especially due to its smaller court. It is also much cheaper: 31-year-old software engineer David took up pickleball when he realized it cost US$100 to snag a spot to play tennis at a New York public park. “And also, you had to wake up at like 6am just to reserve a court,” Masters said. Beyond tennis, pickleball takes on airs of badminton and table tennis, with lighting-fast exchanges that demand quick reflexes. What is more, players must strategically position on the court: Competitors cannot hit the ball before it bounces if it lands in a non-volley zone that is just in front of the net. The game was invented in 1965 by three fathers in the state of Washington. In February, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association deemed it the fastest-growing sport in the US, with 4.8 million regular or casual players last year, up 39 percent from 2019. The growth in New York is visible, with new courts popping up throughout the city and where private coaches have even become in
Flamboyant Japanese professional wrestler-turned-politician Antonio Inoki yesterday died aged 79, according to a company he founded. His death, which Japanese public broadcaster NHK said was from heart failure, brought to an end a varied life in the public eye, during which Inoki fought Muhammad Ali, fostered close personal ties with North Korea, and helped free hostages in Iraq. The Yokohama native — born Kanji Inoki — also starred in US wrestling promotions, and served two separate terms in Japan’s legislature. US wrestling legend Triple H wrote on Twitter that Inoki was “one of the most important figures in the history of our business, and a man who embodied the term ‘fighting spirit.’” “The legacy of WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki will live on forever,” the chief operating officer of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) said in a statement. “Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro-Wrestling and former professional wrestler, died in Tokyo,” the group said. Standing 1.9m tall, Inoki was a pioneer of mixed martial arts in Japan, and shot to fame in 1976 for taking on world heavyweight champion Ali in a zany wrestler-versus-boxer bout in Tokyo. There followed appearances in the World Wrestling Federation, as WWE was then known. “One of the key figures in the history of Japanese wrestling, Antonio Inoki was among the most respected men in sports-entertainment and a bona fide legend in his homeland,” the company said yesterday. In 1989, Inoki was elected as an upper-house lawmaker for the now-defunct Sports and Peace Party. Prior to the 1990 Gulf War, he traveled to Iraq to secure the release of Japanese hostages. Having built a strong personal connection with North Korea, Inoki traveled there dozens of times to help resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese citizens during the Cold War. The wrestler said he wanted to “contribute to world peace through sports,” and arranged
STRONG REBUKE: Repeated ballistic missile launches by North Korea are a grave provocation that undermines the peninsula’s peace and security, South Korea said North Korea yesterday test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles, its neighbors said, the fourth round this week of weapons launches that prompted quick, strong condemnation from its rivals. In an unusually strong rebuke of North Korea’s weapons programs, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said North Korea’s “obsession” with nuclear weapons is deepening the suffering of its own people, and warned of an “overwhelming response” from South Korean and US militaries if such weapons are used. “North Korea hasn’t abandoned its obsession with nukes and missiles despite the persistent international objection in the past 30 years,” Yoon said during an Armed Forces Day ceremony at the military headquarters in central South Korea. “The development of nuclear weapons will plunge the lives of North Korean people in further pains.” “If North Korea attempts to use nukes, it’ll face a resolute, overwhelming response by the South Korea-US alliance and our military,” Yoon said. Yoon’s comments could enrage North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who in July alleged that Yoon’s government was led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters.” Kim has also rebuffed Yoon’s offers of massive assistance in return for denuclearization. The North’s testing spree this week is seen as a response to recent naval drills between South Korea and the US, and other training exercises involving Japan. North Korea views such military exercises as an invasion rehearsal and argues they reveal US and South Korean “double standards” because they brand the North’s weapons tests as provocation. South Korean, Japanese and US militaries yesterday said they detected the two North Korean missile launches. South Korea said the liftoffs occurred from North Korea’s capital region. South Korean and Japanese estimates show that the missiles flew about 350km to 400km at a maximum altitude of 30km to 50km before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro
LANDING INCIDENT: A plane with 63 passengers was shot at by ‘terrorists’ from an ethnic minority militia, state news reported, although militants denied responsibility Myanmar’s military government accused rebel forces in the eastern state of Kayah of firing at a passenger plane as it was preparing to land on Friday, wounding a passenger who was hit by a bullet that penetrated the fuselage. Rebel groups denied the allegation. Myanmar state television MRTV said the Myanmar National Airlines plane, carrying 63 passengers, was hit as it was about to land in Loikaw, the capital of the eastern state of Kayah, also known as Karenni. It cited junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun as saying the shooting was carried out by “terrorists” belonging to the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), an ethnic minority militia battling the government, and their allies in the People’s Defense Force (PDF), an armed pro-democracy group. “I want to say that this kind of attack on the passenger plane is a war crime,” he told MRTV by phone, adding that “people and organizations who want peace need to condemn this issue all round.” MRTV said the bullet entered the plane’s lower fuselage as it was flying at an altitude of 1,070m about 6.5km north of the airport. It said the injured passenger was taken to a hospital. The state news agency released photos it said were of the bullet hole and the passenger being treated. Myanmar National Airlines’ office in Loikaw announced that all flights to the city were canceled indefinitely. Kayah state has experienced intense conflict between the military and local resistance groups since the army seized power last year, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Feb. 1 takeover last year was met with peaceful nationwide protests, but after the army and police cracked down with lethal force on street demonstrators opposing military rule, thousands of civilians formed militia units as part of the PDF to fight back. The PDF groups are allied with
FEW ATTEND: Many residents of Srinagar appear to be wary of returning to the movies given a history of cinemas being closed by rebels and turned into detention camps A multi-screen cinema hall yesterday opened in the main city of Indian-controlled Kashmir for the first time in 14 years, as the government pushes to showcase normalcy in the disputed region that was brought under India’s direct rule three years ago. Decades of deadly conflict, bombings and a brutal Indian counterinsurgency campaign have turned people away from cinemas, and only about a dozen viewers lined up for the first morning show, the Bollywood action movie Vikram Vedha. The 520-seat hall with three screens opened under elaborate security in Srinagar’s high security zone, which also houses India’s military regional headquarters. “There are different viewpoints about [cinema], but I think it’s a good thing,” said moviegoer Faheem, who gave only one name. “It’s a sign of progress.” Others at the show declined to comment. The afternoon and evening shows had less than 10 percent occupancy yesterday, according to India’s premier movie booking Web site in.bookmyshow.com. The multiplex was officially inaugurated on Sept. 20 by Kashmiri Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The cinema is part of Indian multiplex chain Inox in partnership with a Kashmiri businessman. ‘PROPAGANDA VEHICLE’ After Kashmiri militants rose up against Indian rule in 1989, launching a bloody insurgency that was met with a brutal response by Indian troops, the once-thriving city of Srinagar wilted. The city’s eight privately owned movie theaters closed on the orders of rebels, who said that India’s film industry was a propaganda vehicle for its cultural invasion and anti-Islamic. In the early 1990s, government forces converted most of the city’s theaters into makeshift security camps, detention centers or interrogation camps. Soon, places where audiences thronged to see Bollywood blockbusters became feared buildings, where witnesses said that torture was commonplace. However, three cinema halls, backed by government financial assistance, reopened in 1999 amid an official push to project an idea that life had returned to normal
Oct. 3 to Oct. 9 Wang Shih-chieh (王世傑) could not forget the fertile plains he saw on his trip north. He first passed by in 1682 while delivering food supplies to Kingdom of Tungning troops, who were suppressing indigenous unrest in northern Taiwan. More than a decade later, the Kinmen native returned with over 180 settlers from his home village, establishing a prosperous settlement that became today’s Hsinchu City. The place they first set up camp is at Lane 36 Dongqian Street (東前街), which is designated Hsinchu’s first street and the birthplace of the city. The sign says they arrived in either 1691, 1701, 1711 or 1718. Wang constructed the Longen Canal (隆恩圳), one of three ancient waterways in town, and several temples that still stand today. Many sources state that he died on Oct. 5, 1721 during a trip home, but some maintain that he was beheaded by an indigenous robber on the same date while inspecting the canal. In any event, his relatives were said to have made a head from gold, attached it to the body and sent it back home to rest in the ancestral grave. Obviously there were indigenous people living in this area already, but the sign doesn’t mention them at all. A Hsinchu Bureau of Cultural Affairs document notes that Wang traded with them and established boundaries between the two groups, and farmed initially on abandoned indigenous land. Who were these original inhabitants, what happened to them and how exactly did Wang die? Taiwan in Time investigates. STRONGMAN An 1995 article in Hsinchu Journal of History (竹塹文獻) by Wang’s ninth-generation descendent Wang Chia-tsan (王家燦) confirms that Wang was born in 1624 in Jincheng (金城) in today’s Kinmen. The warlord and Ming loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功, or Koxinga) was based in Kinmen before dislodging the Dutch from Taiwan,
Whether it’s a tricky maths problem or an unexpected bill, daily life is full of stressful experiences. Now researchers have found that humans produce a different odor when under pressure — and dogs can sniff it out. While previous studies have suggested canines might pick up on human emotions, possibly through smell, questions remained over whether they could detect stress and if this could be done through scent. “This study has definitively proven that people, when they have a stress response, their odor profile changes,” said Clara Wilson, a PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast, and first author of the research. Wilson added the findings could prove useful when training service dogs, such as those that support people with post-raumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They’re often trained to look at someone either crouching down on the floor, or starting to do self-injurious behaviors,” said Wilson. The latest study, she said, offers another potential cue. “There is definitely a smell component, and that might be valuable in the training of these dogs in addition to all of the visual stuff,” said Wilson. Writing in the journal Plos One, Wilson and colleagues report how they first constructed a stand bearing three containers, each topped by a perforated lid. The researchers report they were able to train four dogs to indicate the container holding a particular breath and sweat sample, even when the line-up included unused gauze, samples from another person, or samples from the same person taken at a different time of day. With the team confident the dogs understood the approach, they turned to breath and sweat samples collected from 36 people asked to count backwards from 9,000 in units of 17. The participants reported feeling stressed by the task and, for the 27 who carried it out in the laboratory, their blood pressure and heart rate rose. The dogs were taught
Taking place once every three years, the Murder by Numbers Film Festival will kick off next week to highlight issues surrounding the death penalty. “In a country with frequent mistrials, and where people have low confidence in the law, why do we let the unreliable judicial system wield the power to decide life and death? Why do we think that the death penalty can upend justice and guarantee social stability?” organizer Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty asks in the introduction. Themed “The State vs You and Me,” the selection of 16 films from across the world presents the topic through different perspectives and invites the audience to think about possibilities for the future. The four themes are: State Violence, Waiting for Death in Prison, The Evil is You, The Evil is Me and Rescue of Unjust Cases. The festival approaches the issue from a variety of angles, such as the background of the perpetrator and causes for the crime, how public opinion presents the case, the judicial process, state power, prison politics and the state of death row prisoners and other related people such as the victims, relatives and jailers.” The opening film, Free Men, looks at the youngest death row prisoner in the US state of Arkansas. Dubiously convicted when he was 18, he has spent the past 25 years in solitary confinement, but in the meantime has become a poet, non-profit founder and art event organizer and continues to fight against the system. Oct. 7 to Oct. 9 at Spot Huashan Cinema (光點華山電影館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號), Oct. 15 to Oct. 16 at Wonderful Theater Tainan, 4F, 120, Ximen Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市西門路二段120號4F) Tickets are available 30 minutes before the movie starts, two tickets per person For full schedule, visit (Chinese): www.taedp.org.tw/story/11121
The Taipei Times bilingual pages are having a makeover, with professionally curated content for both English and Chinese learners of all levels. With our new partners Ivy English, English OK and others, Taipei Times readers can improve their language studies while keeping abreast of important issues in Taiwan and abroad. A new departure for us is the addition of a Chinese-language learning module, with content provided by the National Taiwan Normal University “Mandarin Training Center.” 《台北時報》雙語版最優質的中英文內容，多年來一向受到讀者們的喜愛。近日起版面全新升級！每週和《常春藤解析英語》、《English OK中學英閱誌》……等專業英語機構合作，提供豐富多元且實用的英語學習內容，不但適合各種程度學生及上班族自修，老師、家長用它當教材也超便利。原先頗受歡迎的雙語新聞則予以保留，持續帶領大家了解國內外之重要議題。 而此次改版除了英語學習以外，本報特別和台灣師範大學「國語教學中心」聯手，為外國讀者們推出華語學習單元，打造最強全方位中英文雙語版，精彩內容在網站上也看的到唷！
報復性旅遊（revenge travel）要開始啦！繼許多國家於今年開放國外旅客入境，台灣也預計在十月中開放邊境，因為疫情悶了近三年，民眾終於可以出國遊玩！旅遊是TOEIC測驗常考情境，今天就讓我們來學學旅遊情境中不可少的訂票、訂房相關英文吧！ book a flight ticket 預訂機票 If you are booking an international plane ticket, you should book as far in advance as possible, especially if your destination is smaller or only has one nearby airport. （如果你正在預訂一張國際機票，你應該盡量提早預訂，尤其是當你的目的地是個小地方，或是附近只有一座機場。） booking an international plane ticket代表「訂購一張國際機票」。預訂機票的動詞要用book，當名詞是「書本」的意思，但當動詞時解釋為「預訂」。 Will booked a seat on the evening flight to Los Angeles. （威爾預訂了飛往洛杉磯的夜班客機的座位。） The hotel/restaurant/theater is fully booked. （旅館／餐廳／劇院已預訂滿了。） 除了用booked，要表達「沒有空位」時，英文也可以用all the rooms／tables／tickets have been taken，代表「所有的房間／餐廳座位／票券都已經被訂走了。」 I’ve booked us two tickets to see “Carmen.” （我已經為我們訂了兩張《卡門》的票。） 根據上面的句型，動詞book 後方加上「us我們」、「two tickets兩張票」二個受詞，就是使用雙賓動詞的概念，在語法中，賓語指的是受詞，若動詞後方可以接二個受詞，則代表雙賓動詞。相同的概念還有give、buy等動詞。如此一來，這句話換句話說是I’ve booked two tickets for us to see “Carmen.” book as far in advance as possible解釋為「盡量提早預訂」。in advance是「事先、提早」的介系詞片語，因此book in advance就是「提早預訂」的意思。而as far as possible與in advance搭配，表達提早的時間盡量越早越好。 If you’re going to come, please let me know in advance. （如果你要來，請提前通知我。） destination 目的地 destination是「目的地」的意思。說到旅遊，一定會提到這個單字，來自於destine「注定…」，因此延伸出「注定要到達的地點」，也就是「目的地」。而要表達「抵達目的地」，要用動詞arrive，因為屬於不及物動詞，因此要加上介系詞at來連接受詞。 We arrived at our destination tired and hungry. （我們到達目的地時又累又餓。） 可與arrive相互替換的動詞是reach，兩者為同義詞，但因為reach是及物動詞，因此受詞的前方不需要加上介系詞。 His letter never reached its destination. （他的信從未被送到收信人處。） 若旅遊的目的地是渡假勝地，則可用holiday destination來形容，不過這是英式用法，美式說法則是vacation destination。 The Caribbean is a popular holiday destination. （加勒比海是一個受到歡迎的渡假勝地。） reserve a hotel room 預訂飯店房間 You can also reserve the room by calling the hotel directly. Try to call late evening, as mornings and mid-afternoons can be busy for the front desk. （你也可以直接打給飯店預訂房間。盡量在深夜時候打電話，因為早上和下午正是前台忙碌的時間。） reserve the room代表「預訂房間」。動詞reserve是book的同義詞，名詞變化為reservation，注意要先去掉動詞字尾「-e」才能加上「-ation」名詞字尾。 I reserved a double room at the Lamb Hotel. （我在蘭姆飯店預訂了一間雙人房。） reserve本身也有「保留」的意思，可以加上介系詞for來表達「目的」，因此後方要連接動名詞片語代表「保留的目的」。 I reserve Mondays for tidying my desk and answering letters. （我把週一的時間留出來清理辦公桌和回信。） make a reservation 預訂 名詞用法make a reservation也是「預訂」的意思，若要表達多少人的座位則要在後面加上介系詞for與人數。 I’d like to make a table reservation for two people for nine o’clock. （我要預訂九點兩人用餐的桌位。） Please confirm your reservation in writing by Friday. （請在週五前以書面形式確認您的預訂。） 【多益模擬試題】 1. One reason that the economy of the country is doing so well is that people now have more discretionary funds at their________. (A) dispose (B) disposing (C) disposal (D) disposes 2. The forethought and planning ________ at each step of writing a proposal will have a direct impact on the chances of its acceptance. (A) invest (B) invested (C) investor (D) investing 3. Insofar as the company is liable for ________, the dissatisfied customer will be compensated for any damage. (A) negligence (B) slight (C) disregard (D) overlook
Here is a store’s notice about its special sale. 以下是一家商店的特賣通知。 Kitchen Mate To all our friends, For larger space and better service, we are moving to a new place on Oak Street, just two blocks away from here. Before we close the store on Green Road, we are having a goodbye sale on Tuesday 10:00-17:00, Oct. 18. All our kitchen tools are up to 70% off! We hope to see you on the last day of old Kitchen Mate. And let’s meet at our new home next month! 必備單字 1. space n. 空間（國中基本1200字） 2. tool n. 工具（國中基本1200字） 實用字詞 1. service 服務 3. goodbye sale 結束營業拍賣會 4. up to + 數字 高達… 閱讀技巧： 將長句分成短字詞，以利閱讀 We are having a goodbye sale/on Tuesday 10:00-17:00, /Oct. 18. 我們將舉辦／結束營業拍賣會／在週二早上十點到下午五點，／十月十八日。 斷句練習： We hope to see you on the last day of old Kitchen Mate. 解答： 動手做做看：將長句分成短字詞 We hope to see you/ on the last day of/ old Kitchen Mate. 我們希望見到您／在最後營業日／「廚房夥伴」舊店址。 考題練習： TOEIC Bridge測驗X國中會考題型 1. Why is the store closing? (A) It needs a place with more space. (B) It has lost business for its bad service. (C) It will be changed to a different store. 2. When is the store having the sale? (A) After Tuesday (B) Before it is closed (C) On October 19th 3. What CAN’T we know from the notice? (A) Where the old store is. (B) What is on sale. (C) What date the new store is open. 解答： 1. (A) 2. (B) 3. (C) 文章由 English OK 授權使用: www.englishok.com.tw
| New Taipei City | 30-35 | 0% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 28-32 | 0% | |
| Hsinchu City | 28-31 | 0% | |
| Taipei City | 30-35 | 0% | |
| Miaoli County | 28-32 | 0% | |
| Taoyuan City | 29-34 | 0% | |
| Keelung City | 29-32 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 29-35 | 0% | |
| Taichung City | 30-33 | 0% | |
| Nantou County | 30-34 | 0% | |
| Changhua County | 29-32 | 0% | |
| Chiayi County | 30-35 | 0% | |
| Chiayi City | 30-36 | 0% | |
| Tainan City | 30-32 | 0% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 31-33 | 0% | |
| Pingtung County | 31-35 | 20% | |
| Yilan County | 28-32 | 20% | |
| Hualien County | 28-32 | 20% | |
| Taitung County | 28-31 | 30% |  |
| Kinmen County | 28-33 | 0% | |
| Penghu County | 27-31 | 0% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-31 | 0% | |
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