SOCIETY
Fire breaks out at hotel
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Regent Taipei hotel early yesterday morning after a fire broke out in the five-star hotel’s basement floor, the Taipei City Fire Department said. The fire started at about 3am in a stockroom belonging to a luxury boutique in the hotel’s shopping arcade, resulting in thick smoke billowing through parts of the building, the department said. The fire was extinguished in about an hour, it said, adding that authorities are investigating the cause. Some guests had to be rescued from their rooms due to the smoke, the department said. Most of the merchandise stored in the shop’s stockroom was destroyed in the fire, but there were no injuries, it added.
DIPLOMACY
License agreement signed
Taiwan and the US state of Kentucky have signed an agreement to allow licensed drivers from either side to obtain a driver’s license without having to take a road test, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Kentucky became the 21st US state to enter into a driver’s license agreement with Taiwan, it said, adding that Taiwan was the first nation to sign such an accord with the US state. The agreement will make it easier for Taiwanese working or studying in Kentucky, as well as those who go there for academic exchanges, to obtain a driver’s license, the ministry said, adding that Taiwanese holders of a residency permit or a non-immigrant visa will be exempted from road and written tests when applying for a driver’s license in the US state.
INTERNET
Web site features TV anchor
A US news site called the Moth Daily, which delivers news in video using American Sign Language as well as text, recently published a story about PTS TV news anchor Wang Shiao-su (王曉書). “In Taiwan — there is a deaf woman who works as a TV news anchor. Her name is Sue Wang (45). She works for a public, government-funded TV program that airs 8-8:30am daily. She signs out the news by reading a teleprompter — using the same content as what hearing anchors use,” reported the Web site, which is run by Alex Abenchucan. It also published a 15-minute video, which can be viewed at www.dailymoth.com/single-post/2017/02/21/The-Daily-Moth-2-21-17. The segment about Wang starts at the 14:25 mark, with photographs and videos of the news anchor. Abenchuchan said it was the first time that a report about a deaf Taiwanese was published on the Web site.
SOCIETY
City fights food waste
The Hsinchu City Government on Friday launched a “communal refrigerator” program that allows retailers to share excess food in a bid to reduce food waste and help people in need. Food donated by retailers, such as supermarkets and bakeries, will be collected and stored in communal refrigerators, which are open to people who need it, the city’s Department of Social Affairs said. The first batch of refrigerators were unveiled in the Minfu Community (民富) in the city’s North District (北區) and more will soon become available in two other locations, the department said, adding that the refrigerators will be open on Monday to Friday, from 4pm to 5pm. Expressing appreciation to Cotton Field Organic Co for donating six commercial refrigerators, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) said the communal refrigerators can serve 800 people per month and prevent about a tonne of food from going to waste.
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
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
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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