Taiwanese won 65 medals — eight gold, 12 silver and 45 bronze — at the Concours Lepine International Paris 2014 in France on Saturday.
A 42-member delegation brought 65 items to the exhibition, one of the world’s most prestigious invention fairs.
A folding traffic cone from Asia University in Greater Taichung, which was one of the gold-medal winners, also won special prizes from both the French Ministry of the Interior and the French National Police, the first special prizes received by Taiwanese inventors since Taipei began sending delegations to the fair in 2010.
Photo courtesy of Chu I-tien
The other gold-medal winners included a multi-functional power generation control mechanism, a rotary internal combustion engine, a colored protection shield, a facial mask made of snow fungus and an ocarina which can also be used as a container.
One of the most popular items was the “dragon fruit tire mending liquid and pump system,” which is made of an extract from the rind of dragon fruit and nanofibers. It won a bronze medal.
The inventor of the tire-mending system is Hsieh Wen-yuan (謝文苑), a locksmith and former instructor at Central Police University. He said that he had learned from his 20 years of service with the police that many car accident deaths are related to flat tires.
Replacing a tire is cumbersome, and women drivers often cannot replace tires by themselves, he said.
His liquid can work in temperatures as high as 55oC and as low as minus-40oC. The liquid is pumped into a flat tire through the tire valve and creates a permanent seal.
Hsieh’s demonstrations drew large audiences.
The system has received a CE marking by the EU, and is expected to be launched commercially this month, he said.
Another item of interest was the “stretchable staff for selfies” by Wang Yung-ming (王永銘), an instructor at Lunghwa University of Science and Technology. The device allows users to extend their cameras farther than their hands’ reach to shoot a “selfie” photograph.
Wang won a silver medal for the device, which sold out at the fair, and received orders for more than 10,000 more.
This year’s delegation was led by Hsu Yi-chuan, director of the Center for Design and Brand Research at National United University.
There were a total of 553 items from 15 countries on display at this year’s fair.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS