■ 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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
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