JUSTICE
Judge evaluation released
The Judicial Reform Foundation yesterday released an evaluation of judges from the Taiwan High Court showing several judges involved in scandals ranking last in the survey. Among them was High Court judges Tsai Kuang-chih (蔡光治), Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和) and Lee Chun-ti (李春地), all of whom have recently been indicted for allegedly taking bribes to acquit former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chi-hui (何智輝). Foundation executive director Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正) said the evaluation results have been sent to the High Court and Judicial Yuan for their reference, adding that the survey collected 628 responses from attorneys in Taipei. Commenting on the survey, the Judicial Yuan yesterday said it could be more objective if it included opinions from other parties in the court, such as public prosecutors, victims of crimes and people who have filed suits.
COMPETITION
Taro carving wins medal
Taiwan won two more top prizes at this year’s Villeroy and Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg on Sunday, after claiming a gold medal the day before. Wu Sung-lien (吳松濂), a chef at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Washington, won the gold medal for a sculptured taro piece featuring a flying dancing girl — a figure that was first discovered in Dunhuang cave art dating back more than 1,000 years. The piece was described by the hosts as “the best of the best” in the individual culinary category at the quadrennial competition, which drew more than 1,000 competitors from over 53 countries. Meanwhile, Wei Shih-chieh (魏仕杰) won a gold medal for his masterpiece, also a sculptured taro piece, which featured a Chinese lantern and a lively dragon.
ENTERTAINMENT
Pop singer still suffering
A recent breakdown by pop star Selina Jen (任家萱) shows she is struggling to come to terms with the long road to recovery, said her father, Jen Ming-ting (任明廷). Selina Jen was badly burnt in an explosion when filming in Shanghai. In a microblog post late on Saturday night, her father said she had broken down in tears during a recurring fever, telling her fiance, Richard Chang (張承中), that she is unable to face the nightmare of a long road to recovery. The pop star is also suffering from recurring bouts of painful fever during the healing process.
SOCIETY
Group urges Web monitoring
Parents should use Web monitoring programs to prevent Internet addiction among youths — a problem that has emerged in recent years with the expansion of broadband services, a non-profit foundation said yesterday. Children in Taiwan spend an average of 15 hours per week on the computer and almost half of them “get so engrossed in online games that they forget to eat,” according to the Taiwan Internet Content Rating Promotion Foundation. The foundation said that 46.9 percent of young Internet online gamers play restricted games that have pornographic or violent content. Parents should take advantage of Web tools offered by telecommunications providers to monitor children’s Internet habits and regulate the time and frequency of their visits to certain Web sites, the foundation suggested. According to the Journal of Educational Research and Development, children who spend too much time online could unknowingly develop an Internet addiction disorder.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
RSS