ENVIRONMENT
Potable water on weekends
The Taipei Water Department said that starting today, drinking water is to be available to the public during weekends at select night markets and commercial quarters in the city. Drinking water fountains have been installed at the following popular sites: the Ximending pedestrian zone, Raohe Night Market, Ningxia Night Market, Shilin Night Market and Yongkang commercial quarters, the water department said. The quality of the water is guaranteed and will be checked regularly, Water Department Deputy Commissioner Chen Man-li (陳曼莉) said. Each fountain is to have a “Taipei Wonderful Water” QR Code so that the public can check the water quality using their mobile phones, she said. Potable water is to be available on weekends, from 5pm to 10pm, she said.
EDUCATION
Team in math competition
With four silver medals, one bronze and one honorable mention, Taiwan was on Wednesday in 18th place among the 104 countries competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad. The Taiwanese team has six students from junior and senior high schools. The top three teams are the US with five gold medals and one silver, China with four golds and two silvers, and South Korea with three golds, one silver and two bronze. The 56th International Mathematical Olympiad was held from July 4 to yesterday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Taiwan’s best performance in the competition was last year, winning four gold and two bronze medals.
TOURISM
Alishan promotes wedding
The Alishan National Scenic Area is promoting a wedding under a 1,000-year-old sacred tree on Oct. 25, followed by a three-day honeymoon at the national park. The wedding and honeymoon are part of a promotional event called “Alishan-Eternal Love Beneath a Thousand Year Old Sacred Tree,” which was first launched by Alishan tourism authorities in 2007. The wedding this year is being cohosted by the Alishan National Scenic Administration, the Forestry Bureau’s Chiayi Forest District Office, the Chiayi County Government and the Southwest Coast National Scenic Administration. During their three-day honeymoon in Alishan, the couple is expected to embrace nature while learning more about Tsou Aborigines, the organizers said. At least 12 couples are expected to exchange vows under the sacred tree this year, they added.
CULTURE
WWII Web site launched
A Web site on China’s War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945) was launched early this month, with content offered in Chinese and English. Visitors to the site can find information that begins with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, and ends in October 1945, when the Nationalist army was preparing to take over Taiwan from Japan. The Web site also features more current information, such as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presentation of commemorative medals to 25 World War II veterans in the middle of last month, a military parade on July 4 and an international conference that was held from July 7 to July 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. Under the heading of “journals,” readers can find abstracts of papers presented at the conference, which was attended by about 200 academics. The Web site — en.70thvictory.com.tw — is being hosted by Academia Historica and maintained by the Central News Agency.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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