SOCIETY
Bank to hold draw
State-owned Bank of Taiwan on Monday said that it is accepting applications for a draw to pick three people who would be eligible to purchase a limited-edition commemorative coin set made by the Japan Mint for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Each set, which features 37 coins of different values and designs, would retail for NT$499,800, the bank said. The mint has produced 1,000 sets, but only 80 are destined for the global market, of which three were allocated to Taiwan, it said. Applications can be submitted through Thursday next week and the winners would be announced on the bank’s Web site on July 29, it said. Those interested can download an application form online and e-mail it to bot23306@mail.bot.com.tw, it said. The coins, made of gold, silver or an alloy, are in denominations of ￥10,000 (US$91), ￥1,000, ￥500 and ￥100, and are packaged in a walnut box bearing the Tokyo Games logo, the bank said.
DIPLOMACY
New AIT official arrives
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director-designate Sandra Oudkirk arrived in Taiwan on Monday, the US’ de facto embassy said in a statement. “After following the regulations of the Taiwan Central Epidemic Command Center’s COVID-19 Prevention Program, including going through a 14-day quarantine and seven days of self-health management, director-designate Oudkirk will be ready to report for duty,” the AIT said. “She will assume her position as AIT director upon the departure from Taiwan of AIT Director Brent Christensen.” Oudkirk arrived on a United Airlines flight shortly before 7pm and was welcomed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials including Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典). Oudkirk speaks English, Mandarin and Turkish, and has been posted in Ireland, Turkey, Jamaica and Beijing, the AIT said last week. Oudkirk visited Taiwan in October 2019 to attend the inaugural Pacific Islands Dialogue. Taipei was also her first overseas assignment after she joined the US Foreign Service in 1991.
CULTURE
VR short film wins
A virtual reality (VR) production directed by Taiwanese Huang Hsin-chien (黃心健) yesterday beat 15 other nominees to win the VeeR Future Award for Best VR Story at Cannes XR, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency said. Huang is a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Design. The 20-minute Samsara Ep. 1 (輪迴) explores multiple social issues, including the environment, technology, natural resources and war, the university said. Huang applies the concept of “embodied cognition” to allow audiences to switch bodies and experience the world depicted in the film from different perspectives, it said. The full version of the film is to begin its global tour in September and travel to Kaohsiung for its Asia premiere in October, it said.
SEISMICITY
Two quakes hit Hualien
Two earthquakes hit Hualien County at about 7:41am yesterday, but no immediate damage or injuries were reported, the Central Weather Bureau said. The quakes were 20 seconds apart, the bureau said, adding that such a close interval was not unusual in Hualien. The first, a magnitude 3.4 temblor, was centered 5.6km south of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 5.5km, the Seismology Center said. The second, with a magnitude of 3.6, was centered 6.1km south-southwest of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 8.6km, it said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
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