The creator of A-Kuei (阿貴) -- a Taiwanese e-cartoon character -- attended an award presentation ceremony Wednesday in Tokyo held to honor the 29 "Asian Heroes" selected by Time Asia magazine for this year.
Chang Jung-kuei (張榮貴), whose A-Kuei has a carefree personality and experiences off-beat adventures which have won the character a large fan following in Taiwan, Japan and China, received the Time award for his creation.
PHOTO: CNA
The latest issue of Time Asia magazine, which goes on sale Monday, salutes 29 Asian heroes for this year, among whom are Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), wife of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Wu did not attend the ceremony.
At a press conference held in Tokyo, Chang expressed his appreciation for Time choosing A-Kuei. Chang said that A-Kuei has given him the opportunity to visit Tokyo, which he said he has wanted to do for a long time.
"I most want to go to Disneyland!" he said.
The action cartoon A-Kuei, who Chang says is a representative of Taiwanese culture and traits, began airing on Fuji TV more than two years ago. The program can also be seen via WAP handsets or Internet Web sites.
The other seven Asian heroes for this year included South Korean philanthropist Kim Sang-hun, who has helped save North Korean refugees, and Satoshi Fukushima, the first deaf and blind professor at Tokyo University, who has helped break down prejudices and misperceptions of physically-challenged people and helped found the Japan Deaf-Blind Association.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS