TOURISM
Taipei tops Asia list
A US magazine has named Taipei the best leisure destination in Asia for the fourth straight year. The Global Traveler survey also ranked Taiwan second in the “Best Adventure Destination, International” category, trailing India. Tourism Bureau Los Angeles office director Brad Shih (施照輝) said that the ranking reflected Taiwan’s tourism assets, which range from natural attractions to cosmopolitan charm. Travel activities promoted by the bureau include cycling, island-hopping and hiking, and have been well received by the US public, Shih said. Based on conversations with US travel agents and his own observations, Shih said he thinks that travelers would be more inclined to take individual trips or smaller groups tours in the post-COVID-19 era. Global Traveler’s Leisure Lifestyle Award list is based on a survey conducted from Dec. 14 last year to April 30 among the magazine’s subscribers and online readers.
DEFENSE
Military reshuffle touted
Army Commander General Chen Pao-yu (陳寶餘) is to assume the post of chief of the general staff beginning on Thursday next week, the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Chen would replace Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), who is retiring, the ministry said in a statement. Vice Chief of the General Staff Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) is to take the position of army commander, and Vice Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) is to assume the post left by Hsu, it said. Vice Minister of National Defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群) is to assume the role of military strategy adviser at the Presidential Office, it said. National Defense University president Wang Hsin-lung (王信龍) is to succeed Chang, while Vice Minister of National Defense Chang Che-ping (張哲平) is to take the post left by Wang, it said.
EDUCATION
School start delayed
Schools are to start the new school year on Sept. 1, two days later than scheduled, to allow time for the implementation of COVID-19 prevention measures, the National Federation of Teachers Unions said on Thursday after a meeting of local governments and representatives of educational groups. Proper disinfection is an important consideration during the two-day period, as some school campuses would host polling stations for referendums on Aug. 28, union deputy secretary-general Chang Chiung-fang (張瓊方) said. The extra days give the schools time to thoroughly clean their campuses and make other preparations before the students return from their two-month summer break, he said. With the break due to start on Saturday next week, students would to have a 60-day vacation, he said.
CULTURE
Munich to host Taiwan show
Architecture designed in the wake of the devastating 921 Earthquake is to be featured in an exhibition in Munich, Germany, next month. Running from July 8 to Oct. 3, the exhibition, titled “Taiwan Acts: Architecture in Social Dialogue,” would highlight Taiwan’s focus on the social roles of buildings after the destruction of many structures and the loss of 2,400 lives in the Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake, the Technical University of Munich Architecture Museum said. The displays include projects aimed at improving the urban structure of Yilan County, cultural buildings, and infrastructure and houses in other parts of Taiwan, the museum said. The exhibition, the largest of its kind to date, shows commitment to a building and planning culture that has emerged from open social dialogue, the museum said.
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
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