SOCIETY
Art work crossing strait
An acclaimed installation at China’s Pavilion in last year’s World Expo in Shanghai — the animated Along the River During the Ching-ming Festival — will be displayed in Taipei from July 1 to Sept. 4. At 110m long and 6m wide, the animated version of the historical hand scroll will be on display for visitors to the Expo Dome, Taipei Deputy Secretariat Chen Yung-ren (陳永仁) said. The animated scroll was based on the work of 12th century Sung Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (張擇端), whose lively portrayal of the daily life of ordinary people in the capital city of the Northern Sung Dynasty — Bianjing (Kaifeng) — has captured the fascination of people for generations. The original work is stored at the Palace Museum in Beijing. The electronic adaptation of the painting is 30 times bigger than the original and can switch between a daytime and nighttime view of the scene.
ENVIRONMENT
EPA to auction seized ship
A ship belonging to South Korea’s Samho Shipping that authorities seized earlier this year will be auctioned on June 15 to pay off fines incurred in a 2005 benzene leakage in Taiwanese waters from another vessel owned by the same company, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said. The Samho Onyx was detained by EPA and Ministry of Justice personnel on Feb. 25 when it entered Mailiao Harbor in Yunlin County. The money raised through the auction will be used to reimburse more than NT$60 million (US$2.1 million) in fines that the company accrued for water pollution after its vessel Samho Brother, carrying 3,100 tonnes of benzene, sank off Hsinchu County in October 2005. EPA officials said that although the South Korean company has paid more than NT$10 million in fines, it still owes more than NT$60 million. The reserve price of the auction for the Samho Onyx has been set at US$7 million, the EPA said.
SPORT
All-female race held
More than 7,000 women and girls wearing pink T-shirts joined the nation’s first long-distance foot race exclusively for women yesterday. The participants ranged from pre-schoolers to 60-year-olds in an event that featured a 9km and a 5km race. “It doesn’t feel so competitive when running with girls,” said Hsu Yu-fang (許玉芳), who won the 9km race in 30 minutes, 24 seconds. “It feels more comfortable.” The event, starting on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, also included massage services, nail-painting, makeup activities and performances by local singers.
POLITICS
Tsai vague on running mate
During a campaign event yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) struggled to respond to questions surrounding a her choice of running mate. DPP -Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) is increasingly seen as a possible pick as Tsai seeks to shore up local and business ties. On Saturday, Tsai said to reporters that a joint ticket would be “prosperous,” because of their same year of birth, 1956, and their place in the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, in an apparent back-down yesterday, she repeated earlier comments that a running mate requires a party-wide consensus. The DPP “doesn’t have to rush the issue” and in the meantime would focus on coordinating the election campaign, she said. “There are many people that have the sign of the monkey within the DPP. You don’t have to look too far into this.”
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
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