Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday accused the Government Information Office (GIO) of lowering the status of a proposed national film culture center in Kaohsiung for political reasons.
Kuan, who previously served as director of the city’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs and then its information office, issued a press release accusing the GIO of diminishing the status of the center by placing it under a similar facility to be built in Sinjhuang, Taipei County, despite the former DPP administration’s decision to give the two centers equal status with the aim of developing Taipei and Kaohsiung’s film industries.
MERGED
Kaohsiung’s information office was merged with the city’s Tourism Bureau last month.
The GIO proposed the plan to build the two centers to the Council of Economic Planning and Development for review on Wednesday.
Under the plan, a main center would be built in Sinjhuang next year, while a branch would be built in Neiweipi (內惟埤) in Kaohsiung in 2014. Construction is scheduled for completion by 2018.
The construction work is expected to cost NT$5.6 billion (US$174.2 million).
Kuan said the GIO’s proposal showed that total floor space of the branch in Kaohsiung would only be equal to one quarter the floor area of the center in Sinjhaung.
The center in Kaohsiung would not have any rooms for book collections, auditoriums, film studios or sets available to crews filming in the city, Kuan said.
EFFORTS
In terms of budget, the construction of the center in Kaohsiung would only account for NT$1.1 billion of the NT$5.6 billion total budget, Kuan said, adding that this showed the Cabinet was completely ignoring the city’s efforts to develop a local film industry.
Kuan described the GIO’s proposal as “a typical example of favoring northern Taiwan over southern Taiwan” and “a national policy based on political differences.”
Although the city’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs director Shih Jhe (史哲) gave the GIO credit for proposing to build one of the centers in Kaohsiung, he said the Kaohsiung center would be “too small.”
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS