EVENTS
TIBE welcomes applicants
The 2019 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), which is to take place from Feb. 12 to Feb. 17 next year, on Friday opened for exhibitor registration, with an application deadline on Oct. 20. The exhibition is to be held at the Taipei World Trade Center Halls 1 and 3. Germany is to be the theme country this year at the fair, which is to be divided into five theme areas and nine exhibition zones, and will also host four book-related forums, the Taipei Book Fair Foundation said. The exhibition is not just about selling books, but is also to feature a reading carnival, foundation chairman Chao Cheng-ming (趙政岷) said.
BUREAUCRACY
Interior ministry goes digital
Births, deaths and divorces can now be registered online using Citizen Digital Certificates, after the services were digitalized on July 16, the Ministry of the Interior said. The process of registering or applying for birth, death and divorce records can now be completed on the ministry’s Web site, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) said on Friday. Applicants receive confirmation e-mails and can collect their revised national identification cards bearing the newly registered information from the Household Registration Office, he said. Applications for any government subsidies related to births and deaths can also be filed online at www.ris.gov.tw/834, he said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Tyzen Hsiao honored in LA
The first Tyzen Hsiao Music Festival is to be held in Los Angeles next month to remember Tyzen Hsiao (蕭泰然), who died in 2015 and was known as “Taiwan’s Rachmaninoff.” The centerpiece of the festival is to be a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Aug. 9 sponsored by the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The concert is to be headlined by the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chen Mei-ann (陳美安), and international pianist Gwhyneth Chen (陳毓襄), who is to star in Hsiao’s Piano Concerto in C Minor, while the 216-member Taiwanese American Chorale of Southern California is to perform choral works by Hsiao and soprano Chen Li-chan (陳麗嬋) is to sing Hsiao’s songs. Hsiao devoted his life to the fusion of Taiwanese and Western music, helping establish a musical style that combined Taiwanese ballads with Western classical techniques.
RESCUE
Burned sailors rescued
The Air Rescue Group yesterday transported three badly injured sailors from a vessel in waters off Kaohsiung to receive medical treatment in Taiwan, a statement from the air force’s Chiayi Air Base said. The rescue group, affiliated with the Republic of China Air Force, was informed that three Burmese sailors on board the Marshall Islands-registered tanker Stellar Orchid on Friday received serious chemical burns while the vessel was 125 nautical miles (231.5km) southwest of Kaohsiung. The group dispatched an EC-225 helicopter at 10:30pm on Friday from the Chiayi Air Base and reached the Stellar Orchid at 12:03am yesterday, according to the air force. At 1:30am, the helicopter arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport with the injured men, who were transported to a local hospital by ambulance, the air force said. The sailors did not lose consciousness and their injuries were not life threatening, the hospital said. The vessel had on Thursday departed from the Port of Taichung and was scheduled to reach Port Klang in Malaysia on Wednesday next week.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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