■ DIPLOMACY
Huang presents foreign aid
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) donated US$30,000 in aid to the Dominican Republic on Friday on behalf of the Taiwanese government for areas devastated by Tropical Storm Olga. Shortly after his arrival in the Caribbean country from Panama, Huang drove to La Varguita, a storm-affected district near the capital city of Santo Domingo. Olga killed at least 22 people, left more than 37,000 people homeless and destroyed thousands of houses across the country. Prior to Huang's visit, Taiwan had donated US$225,000 in aid for post-storm rehabilitation. During his stay in Panama, Huang visited Panamanian President Martin Torrijos. He also stopped by the Rommel Fernandez soccer stadium, the nation's largest stadium which is under restoration -- one of the many Panama-Taiwan collaboration projects.
■ FOOD
Beef and beer in Tainan
An annual "beef and beer" festival kicked off at the Shanghua brewery in Tainan County yesterday. The venue was filled with luscious aromas from 10 food stands selling paper-thin slices of local beef dipped quickly in boiling broth and served piping hot. At the opening ceremony for the nine-day festival, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) said Tainan is known for having the best-quality beef in the country, adding that the "only way" to capture this quality is to cook it "shabu shabu-style" in clear broth. The festival, organized by the Tainan County Government and the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp, runs through Dec. 23.
■ TRANSPORT
Deaths from accidents down
The number of people who died in car accidents from January to November dropped from the same period last year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said. Tsai said the death toll -- specifically, death before arrival at hospital -- from accidents involving small vehicles during the 11-month period totaled 2,329, which represented a decline of 17.8 percent over last year's figure and exceeded the ministry's goal of a 10 percent drop. The death toll from accidents involving large vehicles also reached the ministry's goal, declining about 20 percent from the year-earlier level. Tsai said the ministry would present awards to people who had made great contributions to public traffic safety at a ceremony tomorrow.
■ POLITICS
Lu visits science park
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that the Hsinchu Science Park could play an active role in maintaining cross-strait peace by taking advantage of its cooperative ties with 23 high-tech facilities around the world. Lu made the remarks while attending a food festival organized by Hsinchu City and County governments and the science park's administration office to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hsinchu City's upgrading to a provincial municipality and the park's 27th founding anniversary. Lu described the science park as one of the nation's most important diplomatic resources, citing the park's close connections with many other similar facilities around the world. Lu said that production value at the science park was expected to hit NT$1.25 trillion (US$38.6 billion) this year -- proof that Taiwan's high-tech industry enjoys an influential global position. The vice president said that heightening cross-strait tensions would affect the world, but the science park could help build a peace network through cooperation with its foreign allies.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
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