An aspiring "world-class city" whose pedestrians are third-class citizens -- a distant third behind every other mode of transport imaginable -- is indeed absurd to contemplate (Letters, April 14, page 8).
It is appalling that Taiwan's "educational and cultural center" has a business district -- Taichung Harbor Road -- void of pedestrians. Why is this allowed to be the case when so many of that district's businesses are floundering?
The obvious reason is that pedestrians are relegated to dehumanizing, subterranean underpasses, and inaccessible, towering overpasses. Of course these places see so little foot traffic in front of their shops!
It is time for Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
Otherwise, even with the addition of a third museum, Taichung will still be seen as a parochial backwater in the eyes of its more progressive neighbors.
John Collins
Taichung
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
More than a week after Hondurans voted, the country still does not know who will be its next president. The Honduran National Electoral Council has not declared a winner, and the transmission of results has experienced repeated malfunctions that interrupted updates for almost 24 hours at times. The delay has become the second-longest post-electoral silence since the election of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party in 2017, which was tainted by accusations of fraud. Once again, this has raised concerns among observers, civil society groups and the international community. The preliminary results remain close, but both
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The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation has demanded an apology from China Central Television (CCTV), accusing the Chinese state broadcaster of using “deceptive editing” and distorting the intent of a recent documentary on “comfort women.” According to the foundation, the Ama Museum in Taipei granted CCTV limited permission to film on the condition that the footage be used solely for public education. Yet when the documentary aired, the museum was reportedly presented alongside commentary condemning Taiwan’s alleged “warmongering” and criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s stance toward Japan. Instead of focusing on women’s rights or historical memory, the program appeared crafted
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