EDUCATION
AIT to teach about cheese
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Monday said that it would launch a cheese certification program next year to teach up-and-coming food industry professionals about cheese. The program would be a partnership between the US Dairy Export Council and National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, the AIT said in a statement. The USA Cheese Specialist Certification Program consists of three courses — associate, intermediate and master — and graduates who complete all three would receive the designation of USA Cheese Specialist, it said. AIT Agricultural Trade Office Director Chris Frederick said he hoped the effort would help forge closer ties between the US dairy industry and Taiwan’s food industry. Graduates would also receive lifetime membership to the USA Cheese Guild, which provides members access to valuable resources to keep them engaged and connected to the US cheese industry throughout their careers, the AIT said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fireworks show to proceed
The New Year’s Eve fireworks show at Taipei 101 is to go ahead as planned, Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) said last week. A sufficient number of sponsors have been found for the show, which costs more than NT$60 million (US$1.94 million), Su said in response to media queries about New Year celebrations. Asked about the size of the show, he said it would be “about the same as last year.” Taipei Financial Center Corp, which operates Taipei 101 and is 60 percent controlled by government-run institutions, last month said that the show would again showcase LED lights. Last year, the fireworks and light display lasted a record six minutes, involving 16,000 fireworks and 14,000 LED lights.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
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