■ Education
Web site aids students
Foreigners learning Mandarin will have a new tool at their disposal soon when a new Web site opens with special tonal-recognition software to aid in pronunciation, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. According to a news release issued by the ministry's Department of Industrial Technology, the Web site will be set up by L Labs, Inc. The automatic speech analysis system developed by L Labs can recognize and analyze the voices of those learning Chinese and report on whether or not their pronunciation is correct. Building the Web site will cost between NT$8 million and NT$10 million ( US$255,918 to US$319,898) is expected to create after-market revenues of around NT$800 million (US$25.6 million) for Taiwan's publishers of Chinese- language study books, the department said. With globalization and the emergence of China as an economic powerhouse, the department said Mandarin has become a popular second language for foreign students, not to mention the 1.3 billion people who use it as a native language. The Web site will help the country earn a leading position in the Chinese-language learning industry.
■ Seismic Events
Three earthquakes recorded
Three moderate earthquakes hit Taiwan yesterday with the largest having a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, according to the Central Weather Bureau's Seismology Center. The first quake occurred at 8:33am and had a preliminary magnitude of 4.1. It was centered 3.2km east of a seismic station in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan, at a depth of 6.1km beneath the surface. The temblor had an intensity of 4 in Jian and Hualien City and 1 in Nanao in the northeastern county of Ilan, officials of the center said. The second earthquake hit one minute later and had a preliminary a magnitude of 4.3 with its epicenter 4.3km southwest of the Hualien City seismic station at a depth of 7.4km. It was felt with an intensity 5.0 of in Hualien City, 4.0 in Jian and 2.0 in Nanao. The third quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, came at 9:16am with its epicenter located 14.8km southeast of the Gukeng seismic station in the central Taiwan county of Yunlin and was at a depth of 8.2km. It had an intensity of 4.0 in Touliu City; 2.0 in Changhua and Tainan counties; and 1.0 in Taichung, Miaoli, Hualien, Taitung and the outlying island county of Penghu. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
■ Politics
Wang to register ... maybe
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship hopeful, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), said yesterday that, should incumbent KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) fail to enter the party's July 16 chairmanship election, he will register his candidacy for the election on Wednesday. Wang said yesterday he was unclear if Lien will run or not, and he himself has not yet registered to run in the election. Given that the party's deadline to register one's candidacy is Wednesday, Wang said, he will likely register on that day should Lien decide not to run. Although Wang has already formally announced his intention to run for the KMT's top post, he has said repeatedly that he would drop out of the election in the event of a Lien candidacy. Despite the small but growing movement calling for Lien's continuation in the post, Lien has said previously that he has no plan to enter the election.
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
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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