■ EMTERTAINMENT
Film wins at India festival
A politically charged Taiwanese film set in the 1950s won the top prize at India's international film festival on Monday, stealing the limelight from a Pakistani film about Muslims in a post-Sept. 11, 2001, world. The Wall, directed by Lin Chih-ju (林志儒), beat 13 films to win the Golden Peacock award for best film at the closing ceremony of the 38th International Film Festival of India in Goa. The story of a Japanese socialist hiding from Taiwanese authorities appealed to the jury for its depiction of ordinary people coping in politically challenging times. "As an audience, we were able to relate to something as abstract as politics through the real emotions of human beings," said jury member Robert Sarkies, a filmmaker from New Zealand. "Other films that touch upon political issues get lost in complexity." The film festival had screened 176 films from 46 countries by the time it wrapped up on Monday.
■ EDUCATION
Students top science test
Taiwanese students ranked first in science and fourth in mathematics in an international assessment program sponsored by the OECD, the Ministry of Education said yesterday while lauding the success of domestic educational reforms. A total of 8,815 15-year olds from 240 schools across the country participated in the Program for International Student Assessment, which was administered last year and involved about 400,000 students in 57 countries. Taiwan took 16th place in reading. The National Teachers' Association, however, said the rankings were meaningless because they did not reflect the ability of students but only that the local curriculum resembled those in the West. The association also said that the results could not be used as a benchmark to measure the progress of educational reform because it was the first time Taiwan participated in the test.
■ DIPLOMACY
China upset over US transit
China yesterday expressed "grave concern" over a US aircraft carrier's transit through the Taiwan Strait after Beijing denied it permission to make a port call in Hong Kong. "China has expressed grave concern to the US and requested that it take prudent moves in this highly sensitive area," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) told reporters. The US expressed anger after China abruptly canceled a long-planned Hong Kong port call on Nov. 21 to Nov. 24 by the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and its battle group, sparking one of the sharpest diplomatic rows in years. The ship subsequently made for Japan, passing through the Taiwan Strait in what is believed to be the first such transit by a US aircraft carrier since 2002. US officials have said the route was chosen to avoid a storm further out to sea. But some analysts have said the carrier's passage through the strait was intended as a signal of US displeasure with China over the port call denial, as well as Beijing's ongoing military build-up aimed at Taiwan.
■ DIPLOMACY
Gambian president arrives
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a five-day visit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said. This is Jammeh's seventh visit to Taiwan as head of state, the officials said. During his visit, Jammeh will meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and visit Asustek Computer Inc, Motech Industries Inc, Sun Ten Pharmaceutical Co and the Fisheries Research Institute, they said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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