■ LANGUAGE
Mandarin test in LA
The Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles said that the 2008 Test of Proficiency in Huayu (Mandarin) will be held at Pasadena City College in Los Angeles and the South Coast Chinese Culture Center on March 29 from 2pm to 4pm. Candidates who pass the test will be given a certificate indicating their ranking and level of proficiency in Mandarin. The certificate can be used when applying for enrollment at colleges, universities, and graduate institutes in Taiwan, or as proof of Mandarin ability when applying for jobs. For registration information, call TECO's Cultural Division at 213-385-0512 or send an e-mail to info@tw.org.
■ SOCIETY
Book sale to help orphans
The Taipei American School's (TAS) Orphanage Club will hold its annual book sale tomorrow from 10am to 5pm in the lobby and forecourt of the school. The club has collected thousands of books, including novels, biographies, histories and children's and young adult's fiction, English-teaching books and scores of SAT and TOEFL preparation guides. Books in Chinese and other languages are also available, as well as magazines and games. There will also be some CDs and DVDs as well as household items for sale. The club is offering a special deal: Buy three adult fiction paperbacks and get a fourth of the same price or less for free. Money raised from the sale will provide funding for orphans and other needy children in Taiwan and abroad. In case of rain, the sale will be postponed a week, to March 15. TAS is located at 800 Zhongshan N Road Sec 6, in Tianmu (天母).
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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