DEFENSE
Ministry denies marines plan
The Ministry of National Defense reiterated yesterday that it has no plans to scrap the marine corps in its next streamlining plan. The marines will continue to carry out duties such as amphibious operations, rapid reaction, counterterrorism operations and disaster rescue and prevention, ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said. Lo made the statement after dozens of retired marines staged a protest outside the ministry building in Taipei against a downsizing plan involving a restructuring of the corps. The plan aims to cut the number of troops to between 170,000 and 190,000 from the approximately 220,000 at present. Some reports said that the corps’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit will be incorporated into the army under the plan. The protesters expressed concern that the restructuring will weaken the corps and said they would mobilize more retirees for future protests if the ministry “continues to use bureaucratic language” in response to their concerns.
SOCIETY
Balloon festival to begin
The Taiwan International Balloon Fiesta opens today at Taitung County’s Luye Township (鹿野), with a variety of shows and activities planned. This year’s festival is to open with a concert at Seashore Park, with more events scheduled for June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25 and Aug. 10. For the first time, participants will have a chance to “walk in a balloon” — to take a close look at the inside of a balloon. Balloon rides are to be offered on each day from 5:30am to 7:30am and 5pm to 7pm.
DIPLOMACY
EU winners congratulated
The nation has extended its congratulations to the newly elected members of the European Parliament and aims to continue its efforts to improve ties with Europe under the new leadership, Zhang Ming-zhong (張銘忠), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, said yesterday. Voting took place across the 28-nation EU from May 22 until Sunday to elect members of the 751-seat parliament. Zhang said some members of the existing European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group were re-elected. Taiwan will continue its efforts to engage them and will seek to develop relationships with the newly elected parliamentarians to improve ties with Europe, he added. The European Parliament has expressed support for an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the EU and the nation’s participation in international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the ministry said.
DIPLOMACY
Ibaraki delegation arrives
A delegation from Japan’s Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly arrived yesterday to promote tourism and discuss the possibility of chartered flights between Taiwan and the prefecture. The delegation is to call on officials at the Tourism Bureau and at the Taipei-based Association of East Asian Relations, which handles ties with Tokyo in the absence of diplomatic relations, said Kuo Chung-shi (郭仲熙), deputy director-general of the foreign ministry’s Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Kuo said that as part of its efforts to promote Ibaraki, the delegation, comprising members of the Liberal Democratic Party, will explore the possibility of launching chartered flights between Taiwan and the prefecture, which opened a new airport in 2010. At present, there are regular direct flights between Taiwan and Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido.
ENTERTAINMENT
Jazz Party line-up unveiled
This year’s Summer Jazz Party in Taipei is to feature top international jazz artists, including US drummer Jimmy Cobb, best-known for his work with Miles Davis. Cobb, who played on Davis’ iconic Kind of Blue, will perform on Aug. 15, the National Theater and Concert Hall said. He will appear with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and trumpeter Michael Mossman from the US, as well as several local musicians and a Japanese performer, the hall said. US guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet will perform on Aug. 23, while Cuban trumpeter and nine-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval will plan on Aug. 29 with his sextet in his first concert in Taiwan, it added. The festival will close with a show by Italian jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and her band on Sept. 13. All the concerts will take place at the National Concert Hall, although free outdoor shows will also be held at Liberty Plaza on Aug. 8 and 9.
ENTERTAINMENT
Porn earbuds launched
Taipei-based Winzz on Tuesday launched earbuds specially designed for watching pornography. The firm said its “ladobi” headphones provide better acoustics and more intense sensations. What are reportedly the world’s first in-ear headphones designed for watching porn focus more on voices than sounds, and make female voices sound “more pleasing and less sharp” and male voices fuller and rounder, the company said. The six-channel surround sound earbuds allow users to feel as if they are really there, the company said. The ladobi cost US$39 and feature a 10mm double-layer composite diaphragm with a frequency response range of 15Hz to 22KHz, the Winzz Web site says. Winzz started in 2005 as an electronics manufacturer and entered the sex toy industry in 2012.
ENTERTAINMENT
Jazz Party line-up unveiled
This year’s Summer Jazz Party in Taipei is to feature top international jazz artists, including US drummer Jimmy Cobb, best-known for his work with Miles Davis.
Cobb, who played on Davis’ iconic Kind of Blue, will perform on Aug. 15, the National Theater and Concert Hall said. He will appear with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and trumpeter Michael Mossman from the US, as well as several local musicians and a Japanese performer, the hall said. US guitarist John Pizzarelli and his quartet will perform on Aug. 23, while Cuban trumpeter and nine-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval will plan on Aug. 29 with his sextet in his first concert in Taiwan, it added. The festival will close with a show by Italian jazz singer Roberta Gambarini and her band on Sept. 13. All the concerts will take place at the National Concert Hall, although free outdoor shows will also be held at Liberty Plaza on Aug. 8 and 9.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
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