Thu, Sep 19, 2024
Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) yesterday said that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. The pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, Gold Apollo said in a sta
Three people had died and nine were hospitalized as of yesterday morning after eating millet dumplings that might have contained toxic pesticides.On Tuesday evening, after consuming millet dumplings she had made earlier, a woman surnamed Tseng (曾) in Taitung County’s Jinfong Township (金峰) developed
A Chinese naval formation led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed through waters northeast of Taiwan yesterday and continued toward the southeast of Japan’s Yonaguni Island, the Ministry of National Defense said. “During this period, the armed forces monitored the situation and responded accordi
DRONE STRIKES: The weapons storehouse in Toropets in the Tver region was built in 2018 and is one of Russia’s biggest, state media TASS reported Ukraine said it destroyed a large weapons stockpile in Russia overnight using long-range drones to stage the attack as Kyiv awaits US permission to use Western-made missiles in such operations. About 100 explosive-laden uncrewed aircraft destroyed a large cache of Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, as
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday.The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has released new guidelines advising government employees visiting Hong Kong and Macau not to take part in any activity that could be construed as contravening the Chinese territories’ new national security law.Officials from the Executive Yuan and its affiliated o
OPPOSITION WALKOUT: Legislator Michelle Lin said solidarity was needed, and that the KMT and the TPP should give up their alignment with Beijing’s position Lawmakers from all political parties should support a proposed motion that would clarify UN Resolution 2758, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators told a news conference yesterday, but opposition party members later walked out of a cross-party meeting when the topic was raised.DPP legislato
‘SINGULAR FOCUS’: Rupert Hammond-Chambers said that Washington’s support for ‘force modernization’ of Taiwan’s military branches has been ‘on hold since 2020’ Washington remains “committed” to Taiwan’s security, but it has not done enough to support the “modernization” of Taiwan’s military in the face of evolving threats posed by China, the US-Taiwan Business Council said on Tuesday.“The [US President Joe] Biden administration appears to remain committed
The US will keep its commitment to Taiwan regardless of who wins the US presidential election in November, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said at a talk in Washington titled “Taiwan’s Democracy in the International Community.”Pompeo told the event — which was hosted by the Washington-based
“China is not a future threat; China is a threat today,” a US Air Force official said on Monday, citing military exercises conducted by Beijing that were apparently in preparation for a hypothetical blockade and invasion of Taiwan.US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told a convention organiz
The Shilin District Court on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese man who sailed a speedboat near the mouth of the Tamsui River in June to eight months in prison for violating Taiwanese immigration law.The man, arrested in June by Taiwan’s Coast Guard, received the sentence for contravening the Immigration
TAKING EFFECT: The fastener, and steel and aluminum industries are required by the EU to use embedded emissions data for this quarter, the environment ministry said The Ministry of Environment yesterday said it is considering stationing officials in Europe to ensure it receives near real-time updates on the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and can participate in relevant discussions.The ministry also said it is inviting experts, industry represent
STAY VIGILANT: Women older than 50 should visit a gynecologist annually before, during and after menopause to detect the cancer early, a doctor said Abnormal vaginal bleeding before or after menopause could be a possible indicator of endometrial cancer, a doctor said yesterday following the death of Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-pei (許家蓓).Hsu, who had been diagnosed with endometrial cancer in May and was undergoing treatment, died early yesterd
International travelers can now buy two one-way high-speed rail tickets at the price of one if they travel to tourist destinations south of Taichung, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said yesterday.The high-speed rail operator said it has teamed up with the Tourism Administration to offer the dea
Apex Aviation is to offer air transportation services for offshore wind operators off the west coast starting next year, the airline said yesterday.Established in 2014 to operate Apex Flight Academy, the nation’s first flight training school, Apex Aviation later branched out to provide air transport
OVERSUPPLY: With an excess of cheaper Chinese steel in regional markets, the prices of hot-rolled products in Southeast Asia plunged US$35 per tonne last month China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, yesterday slashed steel quotation prices for domestic deliveries next month and next quarter as already sluggish demand worsened.The Kaohsiung-based steelmaker is to cut prices next month by NT$800 to NT$1,200 per tonne, compared with cuts
START-UP ECOSYSTEMS: The NDC has launched a ‘Bridge’ program to assist Taiwanese start-ups, and an innovation hub in Tokyo is the first step of that program Taiwan hopes for increased cooperation with Japan in multiple areas, including talent cultivation and funding for innovation, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said on Tuesday, calling on Japanese firms to invest in Taiwan.At a joint news conference held by the Japan Nationa
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) yesterday said it has received orders for its new artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s HGX H200 chips, with the first shipments scheduled for next month.That would add to the already strong revenue growth from the computer vendor’s new server busi
Two German naval vessels, a supply ship and a frigate, passed through the Taiwan Strait on the way to Jakarta earlier this month, the first time in 22 years that a German warship has transited the Strait.German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius announced the transit in Berlin on Friday last week,
Dangerous flash points in Asia include the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea conflicts (such as the clashes between China and the Philippines) that have become hot issues to debate at international level. Besides that, the Gulf of Thailand might be the next geopolitical flash point.These conflicts o
The Chinese-language United Daily News published an article by Kuan Chung (關中) titled: “Criticizing US hegemony — it has become a rogue nation.”In response, I would argue that many academics affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) appear to deliberately overlook or dismiss the widely rec
KANE’S FOUR: Christian Pulisic’s early goal was the last thing he had to smile about as the Champions League got under way, while Harry Kane’s Bayern scored nine The US player pool has never been more prominent in Europe’s top soccer leagues and two of its key players scored on the opening night of the continent’s top competition on Tuesday.Christian Pulisic scored an early goal to launch AC Milan’s UEFA Champions League campaign.However, that strike, less t
Moments after Jose Altuve was ejected on Tuesday for taking off his left cleat and sock trying to prove a point, his replacement, Grae Kessinger, scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and then made a sensational play at second base to seal the Houston Astros’ wild 4-3 win against the San Diego
Max Verstappen yesterday said that “the fight is not over” as Red Bull head to Singapore this week, having been knocked off the top of the constructors’ world championship for the first time in two-and-a-half years.McLaren leapt into a 20-point lead after Oscar Piastri’s masterful victory at the Aze
SOCCERRoma fire De RossiAS Roma yesterday fired coach Daniele de Rossi in a move that was surprising despite the Giallorossi going winless in their opening four Serie A matches. De Rossi, a former Roma captain, was hired in January to replace the fired Jose Mourinho and impressed so much during the
VIOLENT TREND: Since taking power, Malian Interim President Colonel Assimi Goita has struggled to prevent terrorist attacks, and their number is increasing Malian troops subdued the Muslim militants who attacked a military training camp and the airport in Mali’s capital on Tuesday after gunbattles that killed some soldiers, authorities said. An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed the attack. The militants tried to infiltrate the Faladie military police schoo
A key employee who labeled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage on Tuesday testified that the tragedy could have been prevented if a US federal safety agency had investigated his complaint. Former OceanGate operations director David Lochridge said he felt let down
The pitch is a classic: A young celebrity with no climbing experience spends a year in hard training and scales Mount Everest, succeeding against some — if not all — odds. French YouTuber Ines Benazzouz, known as Inoxtag, brought the story to life with a two-hour-plus documentary about his year prep
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mex
A fat Ferrari, pickles on pedestals and two sausages in an intimate embrace — welcome to the weird world of Erwin Wurm, one of Austria’s most famous contemporary artists, who wants us to embrace the absurd.If we look at “our world from another perspective, from the perspective of the absurd, we migh
As the first visit by a German cabinet minister in 26 years, Bettina Stark-Watzinger’s trip to Taiwan in March last year, was a big deal. The German Minister for Education and Research oversaw the signing of a bilateral agreement on science and technology cooperation, which she said would enhance “c
A: Reality music competition shows have been really popular lately.B: Have you watched “Atom Boyz 2?”A: Of course. Some of the trainees are both good-looking and talented.B: The first season produced several hit boy bands.A: Hopefully, the second season will reveal more young stars.A: 最近實境男團選秀
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by cen
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures.Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually
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% | |
RSS