CULTURE
Art exhibit a hit in Tokyo
An unprecedented exhibition of historical treasures from the National Palace Museum’s collection being held in Tokyo has drawn more than 120,000 visitors to since it opened on June 24, museum spokesman Chin Shih-hsien (金士先) said yesterday. The “Treasured Masterpieces from the National Palace Museum, Taipei” exhibit is to run until Sept. 15 at the Tokyo National Museum, before moving to Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, from Oct. 7 to Nov. 30. A total of 231 artifacts from the National Palace Museum are being displayed at the Tokyo and Kyushu shows, including ancient books, calligraphy, embroidery and paintings, as well as ceramic, bronze and jade pieces. The Taipei museum’s most popular piece, Jadeite Cabbage with Insects, concluded a two-week showing in Tokyo yesterday that marked the first time the jade carving has been loaned overseas. It will now be flown back to the National Palace Museum, where it will be put on display again from Friday, Chin said.
DIPLOMACY
Vietnam riot talks set: source
Taiwanese and Vietnamese officials could hold their second mediation session this week to discuss compensation for damages suffered by Taiwanese-owned businesses in Vietnam during anti-China riots that swept the country in May, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said on condition of anonymity. The meeting is expected to address the 14 as of yet unfulfilled demands the government made to Hanoi at the first mediation session on June 11, which include insurance claims. Vietnam has already responded to 10 other demands, including swifter work visa issuance for Taiwanese and tax cuts for Taiwanese firms rebuilding their businesses there.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
SECURITY RISK: A university student sent a general alarm signal to THSRC’s control center on April 5, causing four operating trains to temporarily halt services The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday pledged to submit a report on ways to harden the communication security of railway systems after a university student hacked into Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) radio communications system and disrupted operations of four high-speed rail trains last month. Investigation by the police and prosecutors found that the university student and radio enthusiast, surnamed Lin (林), first used a software-defined radio (SDR) filter to analyze THSRC signals, downloaded the data to a computer, cracked the parameters and then programmed the codes into his radio devices. Lin then sent a general alarm signal to
RSS