HORTICULTURE
Taipei flower show blooms
Crowds surged into the Taipei Expo Park Complex yesterday as the capital’s second annual International Flower Design Award and Exhibition opened. Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Yung-jen (陳永仁) said that 98 percent of the flowers displayed this year were grown domestically, “reflecting the rapid growth of Taiwan’s domestic floral industry.” The exhibition also features several rare, imported flowers, some of which are being displayed in the nation for the first time, such as double-petaled Dutch lilies and orchids from Japan. Several international floral designers have special displays. For example, designer Wang Hsia-chun (王俠軍) has several exhibits intertwining unique ceramic designs with flowers, including a set of vases held together and elevated to different levels with bamboo. The exhibition will feature craft activities and performances every day in the afternoon until Nov. 9. It is open from noon until 8pm at the Expo Dome at the Taipei Expo Park Complex next to the Yuanshan MRT station. Admission is free.
PUBLIC SAFETY
NTU student drowns in lake
A National Taiwan University (NTU) student died late on Friday in an accidental drowning at a lake on campus. The student, surnamed Liao (廖), was a junior majoring in ocean engineering. He was at the school’s Drunken Moon Lake (醉月湖) celebrating his 21st birthday with four classmates, when they decided to swim to a pavilion in the center of the lake to take pictures. On the way back, Liao began struggling. Unable to help him, his classmates swam to shore and got a lifebelt, which they tied to Liao to pull him ashore. When they got him ashore, he showed no signs of life. It is thought that muscle cramps led to his death. Swimming in the lake is prohibited, as indicated by several signs, NTU Secretary-General Lin Ta-te (林達德) said while expressing sorrow over Liao’s death. Lin said NTU would help make funeral arrangements and file insurance claims.
ORNITHOLOGY
Birders boogie in Birdathon
This year’s Taiwan Birdathon took flight yesterday, drawing birders to compete in a 30-hour birding race in the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area. A total of 27 teams are participating in the race to spot the largest number of species across the coastlines of Yunlin, Chiayi and Greater Tainan, organizer the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area Administration said. The competitors include six international teams of birdwatchers from eight nations, including Malaysia, the US, South Africa, Nepal and China. Organizers said the flat alluvial shore along the coasts is home to various shoals, lagoons and estuary wetlands with diverse ecosystems that supports abundant wildlife. Participants can expect to see black-faced spoonbills, northern shovelers and Eurasian wigeons, among others, it said.
CULTURE
Wheel good time in Taoyuan
Taoyuan County yesterday set a Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously riding unicycles. The attempt to break the record of 1,142 people set in Germany in 2005 succeeded with 1,682 riders as part of this year’s International Unicycle Carnival. The carnival celebrates the county’s planned investiture as special municipality next month. Riders ranged in age from three to 73, the Taoyuan County Government’s department of education said. All qualified riders had to depart from the starting line within one minute and finish a 500m distance without dismounting.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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