■ Diplomacy
Nicaragua gets medical aid
A medical advisory team sent by the Department of Health to Nicaragua will donate medical goods and equipment worth NT$2 million (US$60,420) to the Central American country as part of Taiwan's "medical diplomacy," a department spokesman said yesterday. He said the experts would donate basic medicines, anti-epidemic disease materials and orthopedic devices and equipment during their stay in Nicaragua, which ends next Wednesday. The medical diplomacy program is based on a consensus reached in talks between the Nicaraguan Minister of Health Juana Maritza Cuan and Health Minister Ho Sheng-mao (侯勝茂), who accompanied President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on a visit to Nicaragua in January.
■ Sport
`Adoption service' launched
The Kaohsiung city government has launched an "adoption service" to encourage colleges and communities to get behind the various sports and participating countries of the 2009 World Games as a means of drumming up local identification with and support of the Games. Chen Yi-heng (陳以亨), Chief executive officer of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) , said such adoptions would help citizens better understand the World Games, which will bring together 3,200 competitors from more than 100 participating countries to compete in 26 official and 12 invitational events from July 16 to 26, 2009. Colleges and communities that adopt events or participating countries will be responsible for cheering on adopted countries and hosting athletes during the 11-day event.
■ Crime
Police team up to fight fraud
South Korea will send police officers to Taiwan to work with the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) in the fight against cross-border fraud, a CIB officer said yesterday. According to the officer, South Korea pays great attention to fighting cross-border fraud, as more and more South Koreans have become victims. Two Taiwanese fraudsters who flew to South Korea in January to teach fraud skills to criminals there were arrested on Thursday by the CIB when they returned via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The two arrested men worked for Chinese fraud rings as "drivers" -- which means they would withdraw money using the identities of victims whose personal information had been stolen. According to the officer, Taiwan's police have made good progress in their anti-fraud work, so now cross-border fraud rings have targeted South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, sending Taiwanese "drivers" to these countries to teach fraud skills. South Korean police have arrested dozens of Taiwanese "drivers" since the beginning of the year, the officer said.
■ Arts
Huqin players wanted
Around 1,200 people are slated to take part in an event on April 28 as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, which comprises the National Theater and the National Concert Hall in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Complex in downtown Taipei. The event, to be organized by the Chai Found Music Workshop at the plaza of the complex, aims to challenge the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously playing the huqin (胡琴), a Chinese string instrument, according to the organizers. They called on all those interested in taking part to apply before April 15.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
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