DIPLOMACY
Slovakia delegation to visit
A 10-member delegation led by Deputy Speaker of the Slovak National Council Milan Laurencik and President of the Bratislava Region Juraj Droba is to visit Taiwan from Sunday to Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The pair will be joined by five Slovak lawmakers, including Peter Osusky, chairman of the Slovakia-Taiwan Parliamentary Group. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is set to honor Osusky with the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy in recognition of his promotion of bilateral relations, the ministry said, adding that Wu would also sign an agreement on judicial cooperation in civic matters with the delegation. This is the second contingent Slovakia has sent to Taiwan in six months, after a 43-member delegation led by the country’s deputy economic minister visited Taiwan in December last year.
CULTURE
Australian arts deal inked
The National Culture and Arts Foundation and the Australian Office in Taipei have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance exchanges in the fields of art and culture. The agreement was signed in Taipei on Wednesday by Australian Representative to Taiwan Jenny Bloomfield and foundation chairwoman Lin Mun-lee (林曼麗), they said in a joint statement. The countries have agreed to establish programs to support and encourage exchanges between Taiwanese and Australian artists, especially those from indigenous backgrounds. They are also to support cooperation in a range of other areas, including the visual and performing arts, literature and professional education. Bloomfield said Australia and Taiwan have a long history of arts and cultural cooperation, adding that “First Wave,” an upcoming indigenous fashion exhibition scheduled to run from next month to September, would showcase the strong links between the indigenous arts, culture, and creative industries of Australia and Taiwan.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Local schools ranked
Six Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the 100 best in Asia, with National Taiwan University (NTU) placing in the 21st, the UK-based Times Higher Education said on Wednesday. Other top-ranked local schools include Taipei Medical University (29th), China Medical University (35th), Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (44th), Tsing Hua University (59th), and Asia University (78th). NTU dropped one spot from last year, while the number of Taiwanese universities in the top 100 decreased from eight to six. The report’s top 10 universities in Asia included Tsinghua University and Peking University in China, National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
CRIME
Photos of minors net jail term
The Taiwan High Court on Wednesday ruled that a man given a 104-year sentence for soliciting nude photos from girls as young as eight must serve at least six years in prison. The Supreme Court said that 26-year-old Lin He-chun (林和駿) enticed 81 girls to send him nude and obscene photos. Lin was handed an additional 34-month sentence for nine other offenses, including sharing nude photos of underage girls and committing sexual indecency with minors. The High Court ruled that Lin should serve a minimum of six years of his sentence, in addition to 18 months of the 34-month sentence, which can be commuted to a fine.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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