ENTERTAINMENT
‘Detention’ earns NT$240m
The psychological horror film Detention (返校) has posted box office earnings of NT$240 million (US$7.81 million), placing it 10th on the list of this year’s highest grossing films in Taiwan, its producer said on Tuesday. With ticket sales still strong nationwide, the film’s domestic earnings could top NT$300 million, 1 Production Film Co said. The film is scheduled for release in Hong Kong on Dec. 5, while Japan and several Southeast Asian nations have purchased distribution rights, it said. Detention has received 12 nominations for the Golden Horse Awards, including for best feature film, best leading actress, best new performer and best new director. The awards are to be held on Nov. 23. Set during the White Terror era in the 1960s, the film tells the story of two students who find themselves in a realm of vengeful spirits in their empty school and must search for their missing teacher while making their escape.
TRAVEL
MOFA issues Iraq warning
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday warned Taiwanese not to travel to Iraq and advised those there to leave, citing violence and unrest after a series of protests in the war-torn country. “MOFA’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued a code red alert for Iraq. We are urging our nationals in that country to leave immediately,” spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. A code red alert, the highest in the ministry’s four-tier travel warning system, advises Taiwanese not to travel to the destination or to leave immediately if they are already there. Taiwanese who encounter safety problems in Iraq are advised to call Taiwan’s representative office in Jordan at +962-6-554-4426 or +962-79-555-2605, or contact MOFA at 0800-085-095, its emergency assistance number in Taipei, Ou said.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
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