EDUCATION
NTU rises in rankings
National Taiwan University (NTU) has been ranked eighth in this year’s Emerging Economies University Rankings, up two spots from last year. The rankings, compiled by the London-based Times Higher Education magazine, listed 533 universities in 47 nations. Besides Taiwan, the other nations with universities in the top 10 were China, which claimed seven of the 10 places, Russia and South Africa. China’s Tsinghua University, Peking University and Zhejiang University retained the top three spots. The number of Taiwanese universities in the rankings increased to 36 from 32 last year, with four others listed in the top 50 — Taipei Medical University (28th), National Tsing Hua University (29th), National Chiao Tung University (42nd) and National Cheng Kung University (45th). The universities were ranked based on their scores in four categories — learning environment; volume and quality of published research; level of internationalization; and relationship with the business sector.
HEALTH
Poor air quality forecast
Air quality is expected to remain poor in parts of the west of the nation until Thursday next week due to a lack of wind to disperse atmospheric pollutants, the Environmental Protection Administration said. The lack of wind is the result of a weakening cold air mass after temperatures nationwide rebounded on Wednesday, the agency said. From Monday to Wednesday next week, at night and in the early morning, areas south of Hsinchu and Miaoli counties could see surface temperature inversions that cause air quality in those areas to be unhealthy, it said. Temperature inversion is a reversal of the normal behavior in the troposphere, in which a layer of cool air is overlain by warmer air. It plays a major role in air quality, especially during the winter. As pollutants from vehicles and industry are emitted, the inversion traps these near ground level.
CRIME
Woman found guilty of libel
A woman surnamed Yu (游) has been found guilty of breaching Article 310 of the Criminal Code for badmouthing a man she dated, with the New Taipei District Court ruling that she should serve 30 days in prison or pay a NT$30,000 fine. Yu was accused of libel by a man surnamed Hou (侯), after Yu posted an account of a meeting with Hou on an online forum. Yu said that she met Hou — who was attending the same university — after a party and Hou had tried to date her. Yu said she had agreed to meet him for dinner, but disliked the way he conducted himself, writing: “I was astounded and just wanted to leave the restaurant.” Yu also implied that Hou was a stalker, writing: “Who would want to be a weirdo’s girlfriend,” as well as calling him “delusional” and a “pervert.”
TOURISM
Kinmen woos local firms
Representatives of local travel operators this week took in the sights of Kinmen as part of efforts to attract more tourists to the offshore county. The county is looking to build on its efforts to attract tourists by including more interactive experiences, as well as do-it-yourself activities, said Golden Universal Travel director Sun Shu-te (孫樹德), who helped organize the tour. The tour included guides with first-hand experience of Kinmen’s military history, as they have proven to be especially popular among tourists, Sun said. Kinmen County Tourism Department Director Ting Chien-kang (丁健剛) said that the local government would continue to work with travel operators to rejuvenate tourism.
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
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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