Diplomacy
Ties broken with Dahomey, established with Tonga
April 8, 1965: Taiwan severs diplomatic links with the Republic of Dahomey (present-day People’s Republic of Benin), as the African country recognizes Beijing, ending a three-year relationship with Taiwan. However, ties were resumed in April 1966 when Dahomey became the first country to switch recognition from China to Taiwan. Nonetheless, Dahomey restored ties with China in 1972.
April 10, 1972: Taiwan announces the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Tonga. Relations broke off in 1998 as the south Pacific country switched recognition to China. Tonga currently doesn’t maintain any representation in Taiwan.
Taiwan, US agree to establish fund
April 9, 1965: Taiwan and the US conclude an accord to establish a Sino-American Fund for Economic and Social Development (中美經濟社會發展基金). The fund aims to support Taiwan’s development after the termination of US economic aid on June 30 of the same year. American financial aid to Taiwan began in 1949. According to Executive Yuan statistics, Taiwan received US$1.48 billion from the US during that time, greatly improving the nation’s agricultural and industrial growth.
Taiwan Relations Act signed
April 10, 1979: The Taiwan Relations Act (台灣關係法) is signed by US President Jimmy Carter, guiding the conduct of unofficial US relations with Taiwan following the break in diplomatic ties between the two countries. Under the act, the American Institute in Taiwan becomes the de facto embassy. The act potentially requires the US to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons and to intervene militarily if China attacks or invades Taiwan.
In recent developments, the US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday to authorize the sale of four decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates to Taiwan.
Society
Vice president claims victory in civil suit
April 10, 2002: The Taipei District Court rules in favor of then-Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who sued The Journalist (新新聞) magazine over a story that claimed she spread a rumor the then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was having an affair with one of his female staffers. The magazine alleged that Lu spread the rumor to unseat Chen.
The court orders the magazine’s editor in chief Yang Chao (楊照) to clarify that Lu didn’t call him to spread the rumor. The magazine appealed the case twice. In October 2004, the Taiwan High Court ruled that the magazine must apologize to Lu. According to an Apple Daily report, however, Lu herself ended up paying for the half-page apology in a local Chinese-language daily in September 2009.
Court rules on compensation for wrongful conviction
April 10, 2013: The Supreme Court rules on the amount of compensation for the wrongful conviction of Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳) — also known as the Hsichih Trio — to be NT$15.84 million. The trio were arrested in 1991 on murder charges. They were convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but were also found not guilty in several retrials. The Taiwan High Court closed the case in 2012, in accordance with the Fair and Speedy Criminal Trials Act (刑事妥速審判法), which was passed by the legislature in 2010 and disallows judges and courts to retry cases indefinitely.
Obituary
Freedom fighter commits suicide
April 7, 1989: Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), editor-in-chief of dissident magazine Freedom Era Weekly (自由時代週刊), self-immolates in his Taipei office as armed police attempt to break in and arrest him on charges of sedition. Deng had published a draft “Taiwan Republic Constitution” in the magazine’s December 1988 issue.
Deng became an iconic figure in defending freedom of expression, and is believed to have pushed for an amendment made to Article 100 of the Criminal Code in 1992. In the revised code, penalties for non-violent acts outlined in the anti-sedition provisions were removed.
Sports
Female tug-of-war team takes Asian championship
April 9, 2010: Taiwan’s female tug-of war team wins the Asian Indoor Championship for the fourth year in a row. The team, composed of students from Taipei Jingmei Girls High School, takes the championship after defeating Vietnam in the semifinals and Mongolia in the final. The Jingmei team later won the World Indoor Championships in Italy.
Japan is celebrated for its exceptional levels of customer service. But the behavior of a growing number of customers and clients leaves a lot to be desired. The rise of the abusive consumer has prompted authorities in Tokyo to introduce the country’s first ordinance — a locally approved regulation — to protect service industry staff from kasuhara — the Japanese abbreviated form of “customer harassment.” While the Tokyo ordinance, which will go into effect in April, does not carry penalties, experts hope the move will highlight a growing social problem and, perhaps, encourage people to think twice before taking out their frustrations
There is perhaps no better way to soak up the last of Taipei’s balmy evenings than dining al fresco at La Piada with a sundowner Aperol Spritz and a luxuriant plate of charcuterie. La Piada (義式薄餅) is the brainchild of Milano native William Di Nardo. Tucked into an unassuming apartment complex, fairy lights and wining diners lead the way to this charming slice of laid-back Mediterranean deli culture. Taipei is entirely saturated with Italian cuisine, but La Piada offers something otherwise unseen on the island. Piadina Romagnola: a northern Italian street food classic. These handheld flatbreads are stuffed with cold
From a Brooklyn studio that looks like a cross between a ransacked Toys R Us and a serial killer’s lair, the artist David Henry Nobody Jr is planning the first survey of his career. Held by a headless dummy strung by its heels from the ceiling are a set of photographs from the turn of the century of a then 30-year-old Nobody with the former president of the US. The snapshots are all signed by Donald Trump in gold pen (Nobody supplied the pen). They will be a central piece of the New York artist’s upcoming survey in New York. This
In the tourism desert that is most of Changhua County, at least one place stands out as a remarkable exception: one of Taiwan’s earliest Han Chinese settlements, Lukang. Packed with temples and restored buildings showcasing different eras in Taiwan’s settlement history, the downtown area is best explored on foot. As you make your way through winding narrow alleys where even Taiwanese scooters seldom pass, you are sure to come across surprise after surprise. The old Taisugar railway station is a good jumping-off point for a walking tour of downtown Lukang. Though the interior is not open to the public, the exterior
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