OBITUARY
Chen Lee Shen passes at 94
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) mother, Chen Lee Shen (陳李慎), 94, passed away yesterday of multiple organ failure and sepsis. Chen Shui-bian posted on Facebook that his mother died peacefully in her sleep at Madou Sin-Lau Hospital, saying that he thanked the doctors and nurses for their care of his mother over the past nine months. No public ceremony is to be held out of respect for his mother’s wishes, he added. Chen Lee Shen shared a close relationship with the former president and his incarceration left her distraught, until his medical parole, sources close to the family said. In her final years, Chen Lee Shen was concerned over whether her son would obtain a presidential pardon, the sources added. Chen Shui-bian was sentenced to 20 years in prison for money laundering and bribery, but was released on parole on Jan. 6, 2015, due to deteriorating health.
ENTERTAINMENT
Film festival announced
The Taipei Film Festival began accepting submissions on Friday for its Taipei Film Awards and International New Talent Competition. The Taipei Culture Foundation said that the talent competition is open to debut feature films or second efforts of filmmakers from around the world, while the film awards are for locally made films directed by Taiwanese or residents of Taiwan. All entrants must comply with the rules set by the Ministry of Culture, the foundation added. The talent competition winner would receive NT$600,000 (US$21,067), while the film award winner would receive NT$1 million. A Special Jury Prize of NT$300,000 would also be awarded in the talent competition. The Taipei Film Festival, now in its 23rd year, would show a series of Taiwanese and foreign films from June 24 to July 10.
HEALTH
Infant dies following blaze
A one-year-old child who was in critical condition after being rescued from a burning building in Kaohsiung early on Friday died yesterday morning, a local hospital said. The child, surnamed Chen (陳), died at the hospital from severe injuries, the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said, without disclosing further details about the girl’s death out of respect for the family’s privacy. She was the fourth person to die as a result of the blaze, which occurred at a four-story building owned by her family in Fongshan District (鳳山). Firefighters on the scene said that the three other victims were the child’s 33-year-old mother, who was calling for help from a third-floor window as she held her daughter. Still holding the child, the mother attempted to climb down a ladder that firefighters had raised, but she stumbled and fell. She died later that day from a severe head injury sustained in the fall. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
SOCIETY
Indonesian found drowned
A missing Indonesian man surnamed Lin (林), who reportedly fell off a boat on New Year’s Eve, was yesterday found dead on the banks of Wukugan Creek (五股坑) in New Taipei City, a police spokesperson said. The 19-year-old student allegedly lost his footing and fell into the Tamsui River (淡水河) at about 5am that day from a boat that Lin and 25 friends hired in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area for a party. Lin was said to be intoxicated, police said. Two crew members called the police after they became aware of the situation and first responders searched the river, but to no avail, they said. Lin’s body was discovered by members of the public yesterday morning and police identified him by his clothes and a ring.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
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