■TOURISM
Chinese flock to lake
Chinese nationals paid more than 600,000 visits to Sun Moon Lake last year, a six-fold rise over 2008 when Taiwan eased restrictions on tourists from China, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration reported yesterday. Last year’s visitor number dwarfed the 93,790 Chinese who visited in 2008. Sun Moon Lake has long been listed as the favorite destination in Taiwan for Chinese tourists. The Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration added that the restaurant Thao Culture Park was found to be the most popular among Chinese visitors to Sun Moon Lake. The Thao, who have traditionally lived in the Sun Moon Lake area, have seen their numbers dwindle and are now the smallest officially recognized Aboriginal tribe in Taiwan.
■CHARITY
Crisis hits charity funds
The global economic crisis has resulted in revenue shortfalls for many charity organizations in Taiwan because of reduced donations. Small-change donations, however, defied the trend, and were nearly 26 percent higher last year, the non-profit United Way Taiwan said. A survey conducted by the organization of the country’s social welfare groups and charities late last year found that nearly 80 percent had suffered declines in funds over the past year — an average of 21 percent — United Way Taiwan Secretary-General Chou Wen-chen (周文珍) said. However, a collection drive last year generated more than NT$150 million (US$4.72 million) in change she said. The figure represented a year-on-year surge of 25.56 percent, Chou said. Of the total, most was collected in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas in the months after Typhoon Morakot struck in August, she said.
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
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.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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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