■ Politics
KMT recruits Athens star
Taekwondo star Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄) would become a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator-at-large next year, it was revealed yesterday. Twenty-eight-year-old Huang has become a household name after he won a silver medal in taekwondo in this year's Olympic Games. Huang also has a master's degree. He had originally intended to pursue a PhD after the Olympic Games, but the party has managed to pursuade him to become a KMT legislator-at-large candidate. His family has supported the move. Huang would be placed within the "safe zone" on the candidate list so he would certainly become a legislator next year, a KMT source said. The party's central standing committee is slated to discuss and approve all the legislator-at-large candidates today.
■ Cross-strait
Activists appeal for peace
Taiwan and China must engage each other "here and now" and establish a way to effectively communicate to lay the groundwork for cross-strait peace, according to the spokespeople for a coalition of a dozen private and political activist groups in Taipei yesterday. In a joint appeal, the activists said pursuing a cross-strait arms race would end in a "lose-lose" situation for everyone. The activists called for Beijing to renounce its threats of force against Taiwan, and urged Taiwan's bickering politicians not to infect those in China with their constant invective. Chien Hsi-chieh, chairman of the Peacetime foundation of Taiwan, called for both sides to stop provoking each other and accelerate exchanges while seeking to resume the long-stalled official dialogue. Lee Tai-shiang (李泰祥), a noted musician and composer, called for Taiwan and China to increase exchanges in the arts, music and culture as a way to avoid confrontations.
■ Sports
Distance runs set for Penghu
The first Penghu World Chinese Distance Races will be held Oct. 3 and are expected to attract 4,500 Chinese runners from around the world, the Penghu County Government said yesterday. The events will begin in Makung. According to Penghu officials, 801 Chinese people have registered to take part in the 10km race, while some 3,800 people are registered to run in the 3km event. Several ace distance runners from China, including Bai Zengquan (白增全) and Zhang Shujing (張淑晶) from Jilin Province are expected to take part.
■ Media
TV licenses at risk
The Government Information Office (GIO) might not renew the operating licenses to China Television Company (CTV) and Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) on Friday if the companies are found to have violated the law. The agency agreed to renew the two-year licenses of CTV, Taiwan Television (TTV) and Chinese Television System (CTS) last Wednesday but threatened to revoke them should their shares be sold to foreign or Chinese investors. Through its party-run Hua-Hsia Investment Holding Co, the Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) owns a 65 percent stake in CTV and a 10 percent stake in TTV. The Broadcasting and Television Law (廣電法) mandates that the KMT must sell its stakes in the two stations by Dec. 26. It also bans foreign or Chinese investors from owning, funding or assuming key positions in the media. On Monday, Hua-Hsia replaced two board members with people from Sycamore Ventures, which was part of the US-based Citibank Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Citicorp.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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