SOCIETY
Net blamed for eye fatigue
With more people going online, more than 70 percent of the respondents to a recent survey have complained of eye fatigue, according to government statistics released yesterday. The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission also found that 50.5 percent of respondents think their handwriting ability has worsened, while 26 percent think their social ability has declined. The survey found that the number of people using mobile devices to go online has risen steadily, increasing to 77.3 percent last year from 41.9 percent in 2009. It is estimated that 73 percent of the population went online last year, or 15.1 million, up by 320,000 from the previous year, with most of the growth among the 30 to 49 age group.
ENTERTAINMENT
US star visits temples
Norman Reedus, an actor in the popular US zombie TV series The Walking Dead, visited temples in Taipei on Monday and received blessings for the year to come. The actor, in Taiwan to promote the latest episodes of the drama series, took time to visit the Taoist Chingfu Temple and Hsingtien Temple. “I got blessed for 2013, for a good year, so I’m super excited about that,” Reedus said. “They gave me a little pouch to take with me that I’ll keep in my pocket.” The actor also lit a lantern of illumination to pray for a bright future and took part in a “recalling the frightened soul” ceremony at the temples, Fox International Channels Taiwan said. The actor was scheduled to leave for Japan yesterday.
SOCIETY
Workers shun gatherings
Fifty-one percent of office workers would prefer not to attend family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday as they do not like being bombarded with personal questions, according to an online survey released by 360d job bank yesterday. Questions about relationships, jobs and salaries were especially unpopular, the survey showed. Meanwhile, 49 percent said they do not like attending family functions because they are not close to their relatives. The Lunar New Year holiday is a chance for family members to reconnect, but raising private or sensitive issues could cause awkward situations, the 360d job bank said. The survey collected 1,017 valid responses from Jan. 5 to Jan. 15 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
CROSS-STRAIT TIES
Chunghwa stays mum
The nation’s largest telecommunications company, Chunghwa Telecom Co, declined yesterday to comment on a Chinese news report that it plans to build a cloud computing center in southern China in partnership with a Chinese telecoms firm. According to the China News Service report, Chunghwa Telecom and China Telecom Co have agreed to set up a cloud data processing facility in Pingtan to accommodate 4U rackmount servers. Asked about the report at a Taipei forum, Chunghwa Telecom chairman Lu Shyue-ching (呂學錦) declined to confirm it, but expressed concerns over information security. Minister without Portfolio Simon Chang (張善政), who was also at the forum on Taipei’s cloud industry, said the government knows little about the reported project. According to the news report, the investment project is expected to attract investment of 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) from related industries in China and create 11,700 jobs.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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