■ DIPLOMACY
Ma itinerary unchanged
President Ma Ying-jeou? (馬英九) upcoming trip to Central American remains unchanged despite rising tensions in Honduras, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday, adding that the government is continuing to observe developments in the Central American ally. Ma will make state visits to three Central American countries tomorrow. The purpose of the trip is to attend the inauguration of Panamanian president-elect Ricardo Martinelli on Wednesday. The trip will also take Ma to Nicaragua and Honduras. Earlier this week, the Presidential Office changed Ma? travel plans and delayed Ma? visit to Honduras by one day. The Presidential Office said the delay was to take into consideration that Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya may still be out of the country the day Ma was originally scheduled to arrive, despite Zelaya? pledge that he would have returned by then. Tensions are rising in Honduras after Zelaya ignored a court order to reinstate the army chief. Zelaya fired General Romeo Vasquez after he refused to help with a referendum on constitutional change that could allow Zelaya to seek a second term.
■ SOCIETY
TRA, CPC hold job tests
The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (中油公司) yesterday held tests to recruit new employees, with a massive number of applicants vying for the few openings. The state-run oil company was to recruit entry-level technicians through this year? test. A total of 17,933 people took the test this year, but only 198 of them will be accepted. The starting salary for entry-level technicians is NT$26,000. A second test was held yesterday for those who have already passed written tests. TV footage showed applicants being asked to climb up and down the stairs of a 20m high platform within 90 seconds. They had to stand on top of the platform for about 10 seconds before climbing down in order to secure a passing grade. Meanwhile, approximately 29,000 people registered for tests at the TRA and competed for 445 positions that are available this year. The acceptance rate was about 1.5 percent.
■ CULTURE
Artist workshop opened
The Taipei Artist Village, a non-governmental artist community run by the Taipei Culture Foundation, yesterday launched its first ?unArts?Artist Workshop in Grass Mountain Arts Village in suburban Taipei. ?eave the complex city behind, concentrate on the needles, feel the art, enjoy a moment of silence,?the Villare urged the public in a press release. An embroidery workshop was held on Friday and will be held again on July 11 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at 92 Art Center, Grass Mountain Arts Village. Discounts of 10 percent will be offered to people who hold a Children? Arts Festival Passport.
■ DIPLOMACY
European camp restarted
Taiwan will restart a two-week camp for European youths and adults between the ages of 18 and 40 after a near 10 year hiatus. One hundred openings are available for the program. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned the China Youth Corps to organize two workshops from July 28 to Aug. 10 and between Aug. 18 and Aug. 31 in Taipei to give the participants a better understanding of Taiwanese. Anne Hung (洪慧珠), director-general of the ministry? Department of European Affairs, said the program aims to deepen the European youths?understanding of Taiwan and to increase interaction among young people on both sides.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
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