Students and faculty at the Taipei National University of the Arts on Tuesday urged visitors to the Yoshitomo Nara exhibition on its campus to maintain decorum, following reports of illegal parking, theft of the university’s turtles and trespassing into classrooms.
The exhibition, which opened at the university on March 12 and is to run through June 20, has drawn a mixed crowd.
Since the opening, some visitors have absconded with turtles from the university’s ecological pool, while others picked berries from the university’s mulberry trees, faculty and students said.
Other students said they saw visiting parents using public works of art as playground equipment, while many visitors with vehicles parked in no-parking zones.
Some visitors have barged into parts of the university not open to the public to use drinking fountains or restrooms in teaching areas, the students said.
Over the past month, faculty and students have been stopped by visitors asking for directions, while some students have had their pictures taken by visitors, the school said.
While some parts of the university have been open to the public, certain areas — such was classrooms — are off-limits to protect students and faculty, the university said, adding that it has placed signs asking visitors to refrain from entering the areas.
The university has not put up signs near the works of art placed throughout the campus, as that would affect the general aesthetics of the campus, it said, adding that it hopes visitors would only look at the works and not touch them.
The university reserves the right to take individuals to court over charges of destruction of property should any work of art or plants be damaged, the university said.
Temporary parking zones are made available during weekends and holidays, it said.
The university’s student council president Lu Wei-cheng (盧韋丞) said the university is trying to identify the people who stole the turtles.
Lu also called on people to give public art installations on campus a wide berth when taking pictures, adding that while art is meant to be admired, it should be done so with respect.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19