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.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
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