■ SPORT
Wenshan center opens
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) presided over the opening of a sports center in Taipei’s Wenshan District on Sunday and said he was delighted that each of the city’s 12 districts now had at least one multipurpose sports facility. “I am really happy that the plan, started by me with the building of the city’s first sports center in Zhongshan District, was completed by Mayor Hau [Lung-bin, 郝龍斌] with the dedication of the Wenshan Sports Center,” Ma said. The president, who is himself an enthusiastic jogger, said many people didn’t exercise because of the scarcity of exercise facilities in the city or because of the long distances they had to travel to get to such facilities. That is no longer the case in Taipei, he said. “It is the government’s job to provide people with exercise places that are easily accessible and affordable.”
■ ENTERTAINMENT
TV host breaks world record
Canadian TV host Bob Blumer broke the Guinness World Record by eating 134 grains of rice in three minutes using chopsticks yesterday in Taipei, the seventh world record he has set in various food related challenges. Blumer, host of the Food Network’s Glutton for Punishment, set the new world record on the final day of this year’s Taipei Culinary Exhibition. His three attempts at eating individual grains of rice with chopsticks all surpassed the previous world record — 78 grains of rice in three minutes — set nearly two years ago. “I am still hungry!” said an excited Blumer after eating 134 grains of rice during his second attempt. The previous record was set by Rob Beaton in November 2008 in the US, who picked up 23 grains of rice in one minute and 78 grains of rice in three minutes.
■ DIPLOMACY
Agriculture group helps Haiti
A Taiwanese agricultural mission stationed in Haiti is experimenting with a new rice variety in an effort to help the Caribbean nation increase its rice production. The French-language Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s largest newspaper, covered the Taiwanese mission’s efforts on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. According to the report, the new rice strain Prosequisa-4 (P-4) has been planted in the L’Artibonite valley plain, where most of the country’s rice is grown. However, production declined after an outbreak of crop disease in 1998, the report said. The Taiwanese agricultural mission then collaborated with the Haitian government to introduce the Taiwan-developed Taichung Shan No. 10 variety, which thrived. The report said average rice productivity in L’Artibonite is no more than 2.5 tonnes per hectare, however, the introduction of P-4 is expected to boost production to between 4 tonnes and 6 tonnes per hectare.
■ EDUCATION
Students victorious at PAMA
Two Taiwanese students won their respective categories at the 11th Pan Pacific Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association (PAMA) Competition in Malaysia, association officials announced on Sunday. More than 400 contestants participated in the competition, which was held at the Genting International Convention Centre, divided into five categories according to age. “I was surprised to win because I did not start preparing for the competition until two months ago,” said Huang Kuang-chi (黃冠棋), who placed first in the over-14 group. Huang also won at the 2006 PAMA competition held in Hong Kong. Huang Jui-chieh (黃瑞傑), a two-time champion in 2006 and 2007, clinched this year’s title in the 11 to 13 age group.
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption
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