Two old Japanese-made houses in central Taipei have been restored and given new life as a national center for poetry set to open in July.
The Ministry of Culture unveiled the “poetry house” at the intersection of Jinan Road and Taian Street yesterday, where it also announced a three-year program aimed at invigorating the development of poetry in Taiwan.
Renovated from a former dormitory for Japanese officials during the Japanese colonial period in the first half of the 20th century, the one-story wood buildings with tiled roofs stand out on a street otherwise dominated by crowded concrete constructions.
However, despite the homey feel, Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) said the center for exhibitions, recitals and camp activities will be a “fortress” of poetry to show “Taiwan’s true cultural power.”
“If you only learn about Taiwan from what’s shown on TV, you’ll think it’s a chaotic place,” she said.However, within the capital, “there are also quiet places like this.”
Also announced yesterday was a NT$50 million (US$1.65 million) program to encourage the nation’s development of poetry.
The three-year program is to sponsor an annual poetry festival and translations of works both into and from Chinese, Lung said.
It also is to grant a yearly award and select up to four poets each year for an overseas stay of up to three months as “cultural ambassadors,” the ministry said.
The program has been funded by Scott Ouyoung (歐陽明), founder of Taichung-based Globe Union Industrial Corp, one of the world’s largest suppliers of plumbing products.
A poetry lover since childhood, Ouyoung said he has relied on poems to relieve stress and gain the strength to handle his schedule, adding that he is grateful to be able to make a contribution to the art form.
The poetry house, which does not yet have an English name, is to open in July with an exhibition on manuscripts by local poets and be managed by the National Museum of Taiwan Literature.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS