EDUCATION
NGO exchanges return
Two government-sponsored internship programs that were suspended for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic are accepting applications from executives of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and students who want to gain experience at overseas NGOs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. One of the programs sends Taiwan-based NGO executives to international organizations to improve their capabilities, the ministry said in a statement. The other allows students aged 18 to 35 who want to learn new skills and broaden their horizons to serve as interns for international NGOs. The NGOs are in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK and the US, the ministry said. The two programs are accepting applications until June 15.
SPORTS
Taiwan wins 17 medals
Taiwanese athletes won 17 medals at the Summer Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil: two gold, seven silver and eight bronze. The medal haul tied the nation’s record at the 2017 Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, but included two fewer gold medals. Tennis player Lin Chia-wen (林家文) was the national team’s most decorated athlete — competing in three finals and winning one gold and two silver medals. The Taiwanese delegation to Brazil had 79 members, 39 of whom were athletes. The Sports Administration on Wednesday said that some delegation members tested positive for COVID-19. While the delegation was to return to Taiwan tomorrow, it is to remain in Brazil so that those who tested positive can be treated, it said.
SOCIETY
Watch wins UK award
Taiwanese goldsmith Yuyi Cheng (鄭又嶧), a winner of this year’s Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards in the UK, said he hopes to use his success to promote Taiwanese culture through jewelry design. Cheng, who in February won bronze in the “Make Your Mark” category for 2D design, on Saturday said that he strives to integrate Eastern and Western elements in his pieces, and would continue celebrating Taiwanese culture in his work. Discussing his award-winning pocket watch design — in a category that asked entrants to promote London in the design of jewelry, smallwork or silverware — Cheng said he intends to use the piece to celebrate the new Elizabeth line of the London Underground, the restoration of Big Ben and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. There were no gold or silver prize winners in Cheng’s category.
TRADE SHOW
Taipei book fair resumes
The annual Taipei International Book Exhibition is to take place from June 2 to 7, despite concerns surrounding COVID-19, the Ministry of Culture said on Friday. After two years without in-person events, the exhibition is to take place at the Taipei World Trade Center, Minister of Culture Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得), adding that the ministry, organizers and publishers had reached a “consensus” to move ahead with the event. However, a ministry survey of local publishers on Wednesday showed that 154 out of the 248 publishers who had registered opposed holding it in person. Deputy Minister of Culture Lee Ching-hwi (李靜慧) said many of those who opposed an in-person event relented, saying that they would participate if enough precautions against COVID-19 were taken.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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