■ ENERGY
Waste not wasted
The nation's 21 waste-to-energy plants collectively supply 120 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, equal to 44 percent of the amount generated by the Third Nuclear Power Plant, Environmental Protection Administration officials said yesterday. The plants, which produce electricity by means of garbage combustion, have also helped to raise the country's garbage disposal rate from 76.97 percent in 1997 to 99.98 percent last year, the officials said.
■ CULTURE
Bedrooms on display
An exhibition featuring 65 miniature bedrooms furnished in styles from around the world opens today at the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan. The exhibits in the "My Sweet Bedroom" show were selected from 95 entries in a contest held by the Taipei City museum and include Western, Asian and Taiwanese-style bedrooms. Chen Jung-hui (陳蓉慧), winner of the Golden Prize in the general category, thanked the exhibition organizers in sign language for showing their appreciation of her work. Chen's piece uses flowers, exquisite furniture, a colorful roof and picturesque garden to present a fairytale-like romantic room. Expressing special thanks to the museum and his friends, Tsai Jun-jie (蔡俊杰), the co-winner of the Golden Prize in the student category, said he found inspiration out of nowhere. "I made the miniature work in my dreams while sleeping before the contest," he said. "After several failures and stops and starts, I am really delighted that I could finish my prize-winning piece," he said. The exhibition will run through June 15. The museum is open everyday except Mondays, from 10am to 6pm.
‘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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