SOCIETY
Boat book fair canceled
A visit by the Germany-registered passenger ship Logos Hope’s to Taiwan to stage a book fair has been canceled, a spokesman for the event’s organizers said. James Chen (陳進理) said in a news release that the ship was forced to give up the visit after experiencing mechanical issues on Friday night on its way from Hong Kong. The ship, carrying 400 volunteer crew members from 56 countries, returned safely to Hong Kong on Saturday. Chen said that since repairs could take between 10 days and two weeks, the event had to be canceled. The book fair had been scheduled to take place at Keelung Port from today until Jan. 20.
DIPLOMACY
US House official to visit
The new chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs will lead a congressional delegation to visit the nation later this month to discuss bilateral ties and regional security. Republican Representative Ed Royce is scheduled to arrive for a three-day visit on Jan. 26, said Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of North American Affairs. The delegation will meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, economic affairs, national defense and others to discuss issues including Taipei-Washington ties, Taiwan-China relations and regional peace, Linghu said. Taiwan is one of the destinations in Royce’s trip to the region, which follows his taking over as the chairman of the committee earlier this month, Linghu said. Royce succeeded Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
TECHNOLOGY
University makes digital pen
National Cheng Kung University has developed a digital pen that allows users to change brush strokes and colors with a single pen while drawing on a computer screen. Users can change color, brush thickness and medium style, such as watercolor or crayon, by rotating or pressing the pen, or changing the angle at which it is held, the university said. The pen, which can be used on tablet computers, is convenient because users do not have to change the paint functions manually on the computer, said Wu Fong-gong (吳豐光), an industrial design professor at the university, who led the research team. He said the pen could also make drawing more enjoyable for children since it offers multiple types of pen strokes. The team has received a patent for its invention in China and is currently applying for one in Taiwan, the university said.
CULTURE
Yuan Dynasty art displayed
A series of portraits of emperors and consorts in China’s Yuan Dynasty are being exhibited at the National Palace Museum in Taipei to mark the 850th birthday of the dynasty’s first emperor, Genghis Khan, the museum said. The five imperial portraits, including paintings of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, will be on display until March 25 as part of the exhibition “The Art and Aesthetics of Form: Selections from the History of Chinese Painting.” Monogolian Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tumenjargal Magaadai will lead a delegation on a visit to the museum tomorrow to mark the event, the museum said. The Ulan Bator Trade and Economic Office in Taipei will also arrange to have Mongolian masters sing traditional folk songs and play the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument, at the event.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
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,
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
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