GAMING
MODA clarifies ’Black Myth’
The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) yesterday said it has not received an application to release the blockbuster Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong (黑神話:悟空) for video platforms operating in Taiwan. MODA’s comments came after local media reports said that despite Black Myth: Wukong being available for download on most regional PlayStation stores since Tuesday last week, Taiwan was not one of them. Lin Chun-hsiu (林俊秀), deputy director-general of the ministry’s Administration of Digital Industries, rebutted reports that the game’s unavailability was due to escalating cross-strait tensions, saying it was a procedural rather than a political issue. As long as an application for a video game is filed with the necessary information, including a distribution agreement, game content ratings and cybersecurity, MODA will issue an approval in less than a month, he said, adding that the ministry had done so for several Chinese games in the past. Inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (西遊記), Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Tencent Holdings’ Science Studio, sold 10 million copies in just three days across all platforms worldwide after its debut.
Photo: AFP
DIPLOMACY
DPP secretary-general to visit US
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) will visit the United States on behalf of party chairman and Republic of China President William Lai (賴清德), an anonymous source from the ruling party said yesterday. Lin, tasked by Lai with the mission, is scheduled to leave for the 13-day visit to the US on Saturday, during which he will visit five cities -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, New York and Washington, according to the source familiar with the matter. While there, Lin will meet with Taiwanese expatriates and inspect DPP chapters in the western, eastern and southern US to thank them for their firm support for Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), it said. In Washington, Lin will meet think tank members and US political figures, but the itinerary will not be made public based on mutual consent, the source said.
RESTAURANTS
Din Tai Fung cuts back
Taiwan-based restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, best known for its xiaolongbao (steamed dumplings), yesterday announced plans to close 14 of its stores in China by the end of October. In a statement, Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering Co, which operates several of Ding Tai Fung’s restaurants in China, said its 20-year business license is set to expire. As board members have failed to reach an agreement on its renewal, the 14 restaurants are to exit the Chinese market by Oct. 31, it said. The company apologized for any inconvenience and disappointment this could cause customers, adding that it would compensate its workers and work with partners to handle all follow-up matters. “We remain optimistic about the Chinese market and will continue to observe developments and trends in the restaurant industry,” it said. Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering, established in 2004 by Din Tai Fung in partnership with DaChan Great Wall Group, operates the Din Tai Fung restaurants in northern China and Xiamen. Din Tai Fung works with a different partner to run its other restaurants in eastern China. It currently has a total of 37 stores in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Xian, Wuxi, Xiamen, Hong Kong and Macau.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Chao wins iPhone awards
Taiwanese photographer Paddy Chao (趙培均) has won first place in the “landscape” category at this year’s iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA). Chao’s “Night Sky in Lake Tekapo” captured two shooting stars against a backdrop of a starry sky, including the constellations Orion and Taurus, above Lake Tekapo in New Zealand in February, the photographer said on Instagram. Chao also won an honorable mention in the “children” category. The second photo was taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in October last year, when an elephant calf showed affection toward Chao’s eldest daughter and she responded in kind. Both works were taken with an iPhone 15 Pro Max, he said. Established in 2007, the IPPA accepts unaltered photos taken using iPhones and iPads. First-place winners in each category are awarded a 1g gold bar, while those who finish second and third receive a 1g platinum bar each, with all award-winning works featuring in event publications.
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Beijing views its military cooperation with Russia as a means to push back against the joint power of the US and its allies, an expert said A recent Sino-Russian joint air patrol conducted over the waters off Alaska was designed to counter the US military in the Pacific and demonstrated improved interoperability between Beijing’s and Moscow’s forces, a national security expert said. National Defense University associate professor Chen Yu-chen (陳育正) made the comment in an article published on Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the Chinese Communist Studies Institute. China and Russia sent four strategic bombers to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific and Bering Strait near Alaska in late June, one month after the two nations sent a combined flotilla of four warships
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
‘LEADERS’: The report highlighted C.C. Wei’s management at TSMC, Lisa Su’s decisionmaking at AMD and the ‘rock star’ status of Nvidia’s Huang Time magazine on Thursday announced its list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI), which included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家), Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) and AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰). The list is divided into four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers and Thinkers. Wei and Huang were named in the Leaders category. Other notable figures in the Leaders category included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Su was listed in the Innovators category. Time highlighted Wei’s
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
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