■ Civic groups
MOI to revise rules
The Ministry of the Interior is planning to ease the requirements to charter national civic groups. The ministry will revise the Regulations for Registration of Social Entities (社會團體許可立案作業規定) with regard to the management of civic groups. The overhaul is expected to delete the requirement of including cities with the status of a special municipality. The stipulations covering founding members' household registration will be changed from 11 different areas to seven, and those seven locations could just be the counties and cities where the members work. Another regulation, which stipulates that a group that wishes to apply as a city or county-wide civic group needs the household registrations of its founding members to be located in more than half of a city or a county's villages and townships, is also expected to be dropped.
■ Culture
Nobel winner in Taoyuan
West Indian dramatist and poet Derek Walcott, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for literature, was scheduled to appear at a colloquium at Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan yesterday afternoon. Walcott, who is also a painter and a professor at a number of prestigious universities in the US, was expected to have a "transcultural dialogue" with Far East Group Chairman Tony Hsu and several renowned writers in Taiwan, including Chen Juo-hsi, at the colloquium. Walcott's writings are rich in cultural nuance, employing such topics as racial issues, identity and alienation of cultures, as well as the position of languages. Walcott, who skillfully fuses folk island culture with the classical and avant-garde in his poems, could be an encouragement to Taiwan's literary circles at a time when Taiwan is enthusiastically promoting maritime culture, said a spokesman for the Kaohsiung City Government, which invited Walcott to Taiwan to take part in the 2005 World Poetry Festival in Kaohsiung.
■ Transit
MRT contract awarded
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp yesterday announced it had contracted Continental Engineering Corp (大陸工程) to construct a 2.7km-long section of the MRT's Hsinyi Line (信義線) Construction will be launched next month, at the earliest. The MRT company said that if they can contract out another section on the Hsinyi line by March this year, the 6.4km-long Hsinyi line will be completed by 2011. Once complete, the west-east line will cut the traveling time between Taipei Main Station and Taipei 101 or the World Trade Center to 11 minutes. Continental Engineering Corp, which won the NT$8.74 billion contract, said that the section starts at the Hsinyi-Yungkang intersection and ends at Hsinyi-Anhe intersection. The section will run through Daan Station on the Muzha Line while another station will be established at Ta-an Forest Park.
■ Health
Officials receive awards
At the Department of Health's 34th anniversary yesterday, Minister of Health Hou Sheng-mou (侯勝茂) presented the Minister Award to former minister Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and former director-general of the Center for Disease Control, Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), for their dedication to health promotion during their term. Hou lauded Chen for launching the reform of the National Health Insurance, saying that Chen has helped enhance the quality of medical service by establishing family doctor and referral systems. Su, meanwhile, was honored for establishing a hospital reporting network to fight SARS, thereby laying the groundwork for flu prevention.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
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