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.”
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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