DIPLOMACY
Abe aide to raise food issues
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked a close aide to discuss the safety of Japanese food with Taiwanese officials when the latter visits Taipei on Wednesday, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The newspaper said Abe met with his special adviser, Koichi Hagiuda, on Friday and asked him to brief Taiwan on the safety of Japanese food. Abe said Taiwan stepped up its restrictions on imported Japanese foodstuffs because of a misunderstanding, and he hoped the strict rules would not affect good bilateral relations. After the meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the wake of an earthquake on March 11, 2011, Taiwan banned foods from several nuclear-affected Japanese prefectures. The restrictions were tightened earlier this year after food items from those prefectures were discovered to have entered Taiwanese supermarkets because of fake labeling. The government has passed new regulations requiring that certain teas, baby foods, dairy products and marine products from some areas of Japan must have radiation inspection certificates in order to be imported into Taiwan. The new measure takes effect on May 15.
SOCIETY
UK to host expo pavilion
The British Trade and Cultural Office will host a pavilion at the Creative Expo in Taipei to showcase UK fashion and also seek to boost bilateral business links. The UK pavilion will present works by three Taiwanese designers who have established their own brands in the UK after studying there — Chen Shao-yen (陳劭彥), Apu Jan (詹朴) and Liu Mei-hui (劉美惠) — as well as jewelry and shoes of two British brands, Tatty Devine and Natacha Marro London, the trade office said. The Creative Expo will run from Wednesday to May 4 at Taipei Expo Park, Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. Works by designers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, China, Singapore and Malaysia are to be highlighted at the event, the expo organizers said.
ATHLETICS
Cheerleaders win gold
A Taiwanese team on Thursday won a gold medal at the 2015 World Cheerleading Championships in Florida, the first by a Taiwanese group in a major international cheerleading tournament. The team of about 20 young men and women won the Coed Premier event of the championships at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, beating teams from the US, Finland and seven other countries. Taiwanese teams also finished seventh in the Freestyle Pom Doubles event, 12th in the Hip Hop Doubles event, 11th in the Team Cheer Freestyle Pom event and ninth in the Team Cheer Hip Hop event. The Chinese Taipei Cheerleading Association said Taiwan has participated in the Coed Premier event for the past five years.
DIPLOMACY
Slovakia inks science pact
Taiwan and Slovakia have signed a new agreement aimed at furthering cooperation in science and technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The signing was completed on Wednesday and the agreement took effect immediately, the ministry said in a statement. Following a 1996 agreement on cooperation in science, the new agreement will help advance bilateral cooperation in science and technology through expanding exchanges between research institutes and universities on both sides and establishing a platform for technological cooperation, the ministry said.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
Rallies supporting recall efforts targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place in Taipei today. Traffic controls were in place on Taipei City Hall Road starting from 10pm last night, and would be in place on Jinan Road Sec 1 from 8am today, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei City advocating the recall of KMT legislators, along with the “Safeguard Taiwan Anti-Communist Alliance” have announced plans for motorcycle parades and public rallies in both cities today. Permission has been granted for campaigners to hold
M1A2T ABRAMS TANKS: Thirty-eight of the 108 armored vehicles were delivered in December last year, with the rest to be delivered between later this year and next year The military is to live stream a round of live-fire training sessions on Thursday featuring its newly delivered M1A2T Abrams tanks, allowing the public to witness the training results firsthand, the Ministry of National Defense said. Based on the ministry’s plan, the live-fire training session, scheduled to take place at an army tank training ground in the Kengzihkou (坑子口) area of Hsinchu County, is to feature the US-made armored vehicles firing their 120mm smoothbore guns at moving and stationary targets, while stationary or in motion. At least one senior government official is expected to preside over the round of training sessions, per
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