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.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
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