TOURISM
Alishan reopening delayed
The Alishan Forest Railway will not be able to open on Dec. 25 as previously scheduled after parts of it were damaged by Typhoon Dujuan, the Taiwan Railways Administration said. The agency last month announced that it expected to resume operations on the full length of the forest railway after repairs to the most scenic section between Fencihu (奮起湖) and Divine Tree (神木) stations had been completed. However, several parts of the rail line were destroyed by Dujuan, forcing the agency to cancel its plan. Meanwhile, the Chiayi Forest District Office said it had completed work to remove fallen rocks and trees brought down by the typhoon.
HEALTH
Dengue cases top 20,000
The number of dengue fever cases nationwide reached 20,241 as of yesterday morning, an increase of 352 from the previous day, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There were 17,278 cases in Tainan, while Kaohsiung had 2,636 and Pingtung County had 81, the agency said. In Taipei, 40 domestic and 46 imported cases had been reported as of 10am. There were two more suspected dengue fever-related fatalities on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths to 56 nationwide as of yesterday morning, while 54 people remain in intensive care.
RECREATION
Balloon represents Taiwan
A hot air balloon from Taitung County, bearing a Republic of China flag, took to the air at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico on Saturday, an event that drew balloon enthusiasts from around the world. Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) was aboard the balloon for a 50-minute flight, the first by a balloon from Taiwan in the US, Huang said. Huang told visitors on the ground that Taitung has hosted several hot air balloon events over the past five years and that county government personnel have visited four continents to invite balloonists to take part in what has become an annual extravaganza in the county.
ENTERTAINMENT
Lang Lang to play in Taipei
Chinese pianist Lang Lang (郎朗) is to perform at a recital in Taipei on Dec. 16. He is to play Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, Op. 37a; Bach’s Italian Concerto, BWV 971; and Chopin’s four scherzos at the National Concert Hall, according to New Arts, the organizer of the concert. Lang Lang has visited Taiwan several times. In 1994, Lang Lang won first prize at the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Germany. The following year, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Japan. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in New York City in 2001.
CRIME
Chao Yu-chu gets jail term
The Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced Chao Yu-chu (趙玉柱), father of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), to a jail term of one year and two months for embezzling NT$4.5 million (US$135,722) donated to the Taiwan Table Tennis Association. Chao Yu-chu, the head of the association at the time, was accused of using the money donated by Eslite Group founder Robert Wu (吳清友) to speculate on the stock market. Taking into consideration the fact that the case against Chao Yu-chu has taken more than eight years to conclude, the Supreme Court decided to reduce a 20-month penalty to a 14-month sentence, which cannot be appealed.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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