A Changhua County man yesterday welcomed the Year of Pig with a new haircut featuring two characters from the British cartoon series Peppa Pig, Peppa and Baby George.
Barber Chen Hsiang-hao (陳祥豪), 38, said that in the past few years he had been creating hair portraits for his clients, ranging from Bruce Lee (李小龍) and Mickey Mouse to characters from the Japanese comic One Piece.
The man who wanted Peppa and George, who wished only to be identified by his surname Cheng (鄭), was a repeat customer, Chen said.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
Last year, Cheng’s haircut featured a pineapple design, since pineapples are a symbol of prosperity to Taiwanese, along with the Chinese character wan (旺, prosper), Chen said.
Cheng told him he wanted a new haircut in a style befitting the Year of the Pig, so he suggested a design incorporating Peppa Pig and George Pig, along with four characters — zhu nian da ji (豬年大吉, “Good fortune in everything in Year of Pig”), Chen said.
“The most difficult parts are the eyes and the color-dye,” he said.
While the shaving technique to create Peppa was easier, because the pig is a fictional character, “for it to appear lifelike, the expression of the eyes is crucial, as are the different colors in details such as Peppa’s cheeks and eyes,” he added
Cheng’s new look took six hours to achieve and cost him NT$8,500, Chen said.
Cheng said he was very satisfied with his new look.
The cartoon characters create excitement among children wherever he goes, Cheng said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as