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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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