MUSIC
A-mei’s shows to be cheaper
To celebrate the 15th year of her singing career, pop diva Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), better known as A-mei (阿妹), will perform six concerts in a row at lower-than-normal ticket prices in Taipei starting from March 30 next year. A-mei began her career on the first weekend of this month in Sichuan Province, China, followed by several more concerts throughout China. Before the march 30 show in Taipei, the 39-year-old singer will also give concerts in the US, Canada and Singapore. Although the production costs of the Taipei concerts will exceed NT$107 million (US$3.6 million), ticket prices will range from NT$600 to NT$2,800, low compared with the typical range of NT$600 to NT$6,000 for other well-known singers, the organizer said.
HEALTH
DOH to donate equipment
The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday pledged to donate customized medical equipment to the Solomon Islands, one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, to help combat high maternal and newborn death rates in the South Pacific nation. Deputy Minister of Health Chiang Hung-che (江宏哲) said the donation was to improve the public health situation in the Solomon Islands, which are on par with Taiwan 40 years ago, when it had a high death rate for mothers and newborns. According to data from 2005, the maternal mortality rate stood at 236 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the newborn mortality rate was 12 per 1,000 live births, Chiang said, adding that the autoclaves being sent to the ally were designed to suit the needs of island residents that often lack electricity. The high-pressure instruments have been adapted to generate power from firewood and coconut shells, he said.
EDUCATION
‘E-schoolbags’ to be used
Taipei will introduce “e-schoolbags” to more students starting next year as part of its plan to promote cloud-based learning, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday. Hau said the government would introduce e-schoolbags — tablet PCs or portable e-readers that store teaching materials and allow students to search the Internet in class — to 150 elementary and junior high schools in Taipei in a three-year program starting next year. The initiative is a follow-up of a pilot program launched by the Ministry of Education two years ago in Zhongyi and Dahu elementary schools. Hau said that because the trials went well and tablet computer technology has matured, the program would be extended to 30 more schools next year, 50 more schools in 2013 and another 70 schools in 2014. Hau said the program would also establish an electronic database of teaching materials.
CRIME
Drug cases drop 0.73%
Drug cases in Taiwan dropped slightly in the first seven months of the year, but those related to “second-degree” drugs were on the rise, according to a latest report released by the Ministry of the Interior. The police reported a total of 27,900 cases related to illegal drugs, a 0.73 percent decrease from a year earlier. Drugs categorized as “second-degree,” including opium poppy, marijuana and amphetamine, accounted for 58.53 percent of the total cases — the second consecutive year that they have topped harder drugs. Illegal use of these drugs has increased for the past three years, climbing by 3.29 percent in the January to July period compared with same time last year, the report showed. First-degree drugs, including heroin, opium, cocaine and morphine, were the second-most common types of drugs used. New Taipei City (新北市) reported the most drug cases in the country at 4,776, followed by Greater Kaohsiung and Taoyuan County at 4,358 and 2,906 respectively.
TRAVEL
Travel alert on India
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday raised an “orange” travel alert over Sikkim in northeastern India following a massive magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit its capital, Gangtok, on Sunday. An orange alert, the -second-highest on the country’s four-color coded advisory system, meant people should avoid non-essential trips or be extremely vigilant if they had to visit these areas. An orange alert for West Bengal and Bihar in India and Nepal that has been in place since September remains, it said. People in need of help are urged to contact the ministry’s representative offices at 91-9810502610 in India or its emergency center at 0800-085-095, it said.
WEATHER
Cooler weather ahead
The year’s first northeastern winds swept down across the nation yesterday and could drive temperatures down to 21oC in the north, the Central Weather Bureau. A trademark of autumn weather patterns, the seasonal winds are expected to send temperatures lower by at least 4oC in most areas by Friday, the bureau said. “As we see more seasonal winds blowing under the influence of a Siberian high pressure system, a typical autumn weather pattern is near,” forecaster Lin Pin-yu (林秉煜) said. “Temperature differences between night and day will become more acute.” In northern and northeastern Taiwan, which are expected to be most affected by the seasonal weather, temperatures are expected to fall to between 21oC and 29oC, compared with a recent range of 25oC to 34oC.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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