CHARITY
Sichuan aid helps 1.5m
The nation’s aid to the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China has benefited 1.5 million people, the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China said. Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the magnitude 7.9 quake, which struck Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008, killing more than 69,000 people and leaving more than 18,000 missing. Over the past six years, the Red Cross Society has helped build 43 schools, 43 health centers and one rehabilitation center for the disabled in disaster zones in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, assisting 1.5 million residents, including 32,600 students, Red Cross chairwoman Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said. The charity said it hoped to complete all post-quake reconstruction works by next year.
CULTURE
Super Slippa to host 36 acts
A total of 36 singers and bands will take the stage in Taipei this summer at an annual music festival that opens on July 4. The musicians will take turns performing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Summer Super Slippa, which will be held from July 4 to Aug. 31, organizers B’in Music Co said. Singers Richie Jen (任賢齊), Aboriginal a cappella group The O-Kai Singers, electronic band Lie Gramophone and rock bands Magic Power, My Skin Against Your Skin and Monkey Pilot are among the performers scheduled to take the stage. Every Wednesday, the festival will also feature performances by new artists and bands, B’in Music said. The festival will climax on Aug. 23 with a concert at Taipei Arena by bands Mayday (五月天), Mary See the Future and Hush, singers Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), Lala Hsu (徐佳瑩) and Hong Kong musician Paul Wong (黃貫中). The festival will take place at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.
CHARITY
Lottos post NT$5.5bn surplus
Public welfare lotteries generated a surplus of NT$5.51 billion (US$182.6 million) in the first quarter of the year, data released by Taiwan Lottery Co showed. That includes a surplus of NT$1.57 billion generated in March alone, said the company, a subsidiary of CTBC Holding Co that has been commissioned to operate the lotteries. The March surplus was distributed to the municipal governments of Taipei, New Taipei City, Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung, to social welfare programs run by other city and county governments, to the National Pension Fund, and to the reserve fund for the national health insurance system. Surpluses generated by public welfare lottery sales are allocated to social welfare programs and the national pension and health systems.
SOCIETY
Boat show attracts 70,000
The four-day Taiwan International Boat Show concluded on Sunday, attracting more than 70,000 visitors and selling 32 yachts worth NT$1 billion, the Greater Kaohsiung Government said. About 26,000 visitors, including 2,500 buyers from China, the US, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, visited the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center on the show’s final day, said Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆), head of the city’s Marine Bureau. Lai expected the show to give a boost to related businesses, including boat manufacturers, yacht hardware makers and boat maintenance providers. He said that a US$1 investment in the yacht industry could create US$10 worth of business opportunities. The Greater Kaohsiung government is working on the creation of an industrial park dedicated to yacht manufacturing and the development of the marine recreation there, Lai said.
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
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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
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