CULTURE
Local architecture honored
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, was among six architectural works in Taiwan selected for this year’s International Architecture Awards, organized by the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. The awards, which are in their 15th edition, honored 130 buildings and urban planning projects from 38 countries. Completed in 2108, Weiwuying was designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben and her firm Mecanoo, who was inspired by the many banyan trees in the area to create the center, which holds four performance halls under its roof and a large outdoor amphitheater. Other buildings in Taiwan recognized this year include Siafu Activity Center in New Taipei City, by IMO Architecture & Design, which was completed in 2017 and features a temple-style curved roof and hundreds of colorful columns; the JCA Living Lab in Taipei, a nearly century-old house built during the Japanese colonial period, which was renovated by JC architecture. Chain10 Architecture & Interior Design Institute won for three projects, two in Kaoshiung and one in Taitung: a private home built near the Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店水庫), the Green Isle restaurant in Kaohsiung, completed last year, and the Gasea cliff house, which was completed in 2017.
TRAVEL
Warning over pork imports
The Central Emergency Operation Center for African Swine Fever said that it would begin screening the luggage of all arrivals from Germany, after the country reported its first case of the disease on Thursday. Anyone found to have brought products containing pork into Taiwan from Germany would be fined, the center said. First-time offenders will be fined NT$200,000 (US$6,778), with the penalty increasing to NT$1 million for repeat offenses, it said. If foreign nationals are unable to pay the fine, they would be denied entry to Taiwan, it added. The German case indicates that the disease is spreading in Europe, the center said, reminding people not to bring pork products into Taiwan or have them shipped here.
AGRICULTURE
Garlic vendors investigated
Two garlic vendors in Yunlin County are being investigated for alleged price gauging and hoarding, officials said on Saturday. About 136 tonnes of garlic were found in a warehouse when the Investigation Bureau’s Yunlin County Field Office and the county’s Agriculture Department conducted a check of the vendors’ operations on Friday, investigators said. One of the vendors, surnamed Lin (林), said 53 tonnes were stored to supply contract farmers, while the rest was intended for general sales, the field office said. The average wholesale price of garlic posted by Siluo Agricultural Marketing Corp in Yunlin rose from NT$161.2 per kilogram on Jan. 1 to NT$396.7 per kilogram on Friday. A local farmers’ association official said the sharp rise has been caused by interruptions in imports.
TECHNOLOGY
NASA registration open
Registration for the ninth annual NASA Space Apps Challenge Hackathon, to be held in Taipei, is open through Friday, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said. It will be the fourth such event held in Taipei, although this year’s event would be held virtually. The Taipei leg from Oct. 2 to 4 is co-hosted by the National Space Organization, the Taipei City Government, National Taiwan University, Jothon Online and the American Innovation Center, the AIT said on Thursday.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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