CULTURE
‘Hakka boss’ dies aged 89
Chen Yun-tung (陳運棟), a pioneering authority on Hakka culture and history in Taiwan, has died at the age of 89, the Hakka Affairs Council said on Thursday. Born in Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) on Aug. 23, 1933, he was only 21 days short of reaching 90. Chen’s lifelong dedication to the study and preservation of Hakka culture and history had a palpable impact, Hakka Affairs Council Minister Yiong Con-ziin (楊長鎮) said. Chen also played a role in cultivating talent to expand the horizon of Hakka culture, Yiong added. Chen’s contribution to Hakka culture also resulted in him being given the honorary nickname “Hakka boss.” He published more than 40 books and wrote more than over 160 papers on Hakka culture, the council said. The publication of Chen’s Hakka People (客家人) in 1978 and Taiwan’s Hakka People (台灣的客家人) in 1989 had such an impact that he was thereafter considered an important pioneer in the field of Hakka research. He also shared his research and insights as the host of a Hakka cultural program on Taiwan Television. By profession, he was a teacher who taught at elementary and high schools.
ENTERTAINMENT
NTCH hosts jazz exhibition
A free jazz-themed exhibition, built around classic albums that have been categorized into five distinct moods, is on show at National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) in Taipei until Oct. 1. At the exhibition titled “The Healing Chamber of Jazz: Sunlit Beginning,” attendees are prompted to take a psychological test, displayed on a wall, which seeks to analyze their mood as they enter the NTCH Performing Arts Library. Based on the analysis, they are then guided to one of five sections that feature the classic jazz albums that match their mood. The five sections reflect delight, romance, inspiration, rebellion and solitude, and contain titles by jazz legends such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Bill Evans and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. NTCH has also planned two guided listening sessions at the library hosted by jazz saxophonist Lucy Lin (林映辰) and US jazz singer Aubrey Johnson, who is among those performing in the NTCH’s Summer Jazz Project: Jazz Love Songs concert on Aug. 26. The listening session hosted by Johnson is to be held on Aug. 21, from 7pm to 8:30pm, while Lin’s session is scheduled for Sept. 3 from 2pm to 3:30pm.
SOCIETY
Canadian returns rock
A Canadian man has returned a rock he took from Penghu County during a 2007 trip to Taiwan, the Penghu County government said. The county’s agriculture and fisheries bureau said in a statement on Friday that it had received a package from Canada on July 14 that contained a rock and a letter from a Canadian citizen whose cursive signature on an accompanying handwritten letter identified him as “Mr Redhead.” The Canadian said the enclosed rock was removed from Penghu during a visit to Taiwan 16 years ago. He said he wanted to return the rock to its rightful home, because he thought the arrowhead-shaped stone might be of cultural significance to Penghu locals. The Canadian then apologized to the people of the county and the forefathers of the area, as well as to the natural habitat. He signed off his letter with the words “in reconciliation.” The stone is a basalt rock and is approximately 7cm in size. The bureau said there is an investigation into whether it is a relic. The regulations on preserving and conserving nature in Penghu were previously not as stringent as they are now, the bureau added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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