■ Politics
Su gives ad cash back
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday returned donations provided by members of his Cabinet that Su had initially requested for help to pay for an ad he placed in local newspapers. Su purchased half-page advertisements in three Chinese-language newspapers on May 4, urging the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus to stop ignoring the review of the government's budget proposal for this fiscal year. At the bottom of the advertisement, Su said the total cost of the advertisement -- about NT$800,000 -- would be covered by donations from Cabinet members. Cabinet spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) yesterday said the premier had collected NT$480,000 from Cabinet members, but that he would return the money. The premier appreciated the donations but decided he would pay the advertisement costs himself, Chen said.
■ Tourism
Taiwan taster trips touted
The National Youth Commission will be opening 98 study-travel programs this summer for young people from home and abroad to enable them to engage in first-hand, in-depth exploration of Taiwan, commission officials said yesterday. More than 6,000 openings in around 200 camps in 98 study-tour packages will be available this upcoming summer break to allow young Taiwanese aged 15 to 30 to see, sense and touch the land where they live and allow young people from abroad to discover Taiwan's multi-faceted and pluralistic society as well as its natural beauty, officials said. Interested individuals can visit the commission's Web site at http: //www.youthtravel.tw/tour.
■ Culture
Taiwan part of peace survey
A total of 120 countries and territories around the world, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, are being covered in an unprecedented "peace" survey, whose results are expected to be released at the end of this month. The world's first peace survey is the brainchild of Steve Killelea, an Australian entrepreneur and humanitarian, who came up with the idea during a trip to Africa four years ago in which he saw first-hand how wars and economic depression were afflicting the people of the continent. With a "scientific survey" aimed at calculating the amount of peace in a country, Killelea said that he hopes the UN, governments, non-governmental organizations, and all civic groups around the world will take the survey as an indicator that reminds them how much still needs to be done to achieve true peace.
■ Sports
City sets up games body
The Kaohsiung City Government will set up a sports agency to help with preparations for the 2009 World Games. Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文隆) said the preparatory work for the World Games is mainly handled by the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee for the 2009 World Games -- a civic organization funded by the Kaohsiung City Government -- and assisted by officials from the city government's Bureau of Education and personnel from the Kaohsiung Municipal Stadium. The new agency will help the committee coordinate projects ahead of the Games, including the recruitment of volunteers, organization of the work force and promotional work for both the Games and the city, he said. The 2009 World Games will be the first major global sports event to be held in Taiwan in 60 years.
■ Society
NGO seeks funds for kids
A charity group urged the public yesterday to support its fund-raising campaign with the goal of building 100 kindergartens for 5,000 impoverished children in Vietnam. Compassion International is an NGO that focuses mainly on international aid projects, said Jay Hung (洪智杰), managing director of the group. Three years ago, after visiting kindergartens in poor condition in Vietnam, the group decided to help build new kindergartens in the country's poorest regions, he said. "Locals told us there was a great need for kindergartens as parents need places to leave their children while they go to work," he said. So far, the group has worked with locals to build five kindergartens and train teachers, Hung said.
■ Politics
Lee to visit Japan
Taiwan's representative office in Japan will provide any necessary assistance to facilitate a visit to Japan by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). Taiwan's representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) told Taiwanese media posted in Japan yesterday that his office had not received a detailed itinerary for Lee, but had been informed that six to seven people would accompany Lee on his visit. Lee plans to travel to Japan late this month for a 10-day visit, during which he will receive a prize marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Japanese colonial administrator Shinpei Goto and deliver a speech during the ceremony, sources close to Lee said. Before his return to Taiwan, Lee will host a social gathering to express gratitude to his Japanese hosts, with a number of politicians, including former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, invited to attend, they said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
RSS