POLITICS
Tsai opens Taichung office
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) opened up her first campaign office in Greater Taichung yesterday, seeking to cap off a near success late last year. Tsai is attempting to continue gains made by DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), who narrowly lost to Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) in the special municipality elections in November last year. Accompanied by Su, Tsai declared that the DPP would aim to win all four of Greater Taichung’s urban districts “to mark a historic moment for the party.” The Greater Taichung office is Tsai’s second after the first opened in Taipei. Tsai expects to open her campaign headquarters, possibly in September, in Banciao District (板橋), New Taipei City (新北市).
ARTS
Cloud Gate star wins award
Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍), Cloud Gate 2’s resident guest choreographer, has won an award at an international competition in Rome for his latest creation, On the Road, the Council for Cultural Affairs said yesterday. On the Road, based on Cheng’s observations and contemplation of life’s journeys, won Best Group at Premio Roma Danza’s 1st International Choreographic Competition on Wednesday last week. The annual Premio Roma Danza festival, now in its 10th year, is organized by the Italian National Dance Academy, ImPulsTanz--Vienna International Dance Festival, the Washington Ballet and the Arena of Verona Foundation. The Best Group award will give Cheng a chance to stage his piece across Italy for three months later this year, the council said, adding that On the Road was so well-received that Cheng has been invited to serve as a guest teacher at the Italian National Dance Academy for six months.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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