POLITICS
TPP attacked for comments
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) has encountered criticism in recent days for lobbying to raise the lunch allowance for legislators while cutting other government budgets, saying their NT$100 stipend is “not even enough to buy a McDonald’s meal.” People online have started calling Chang “French Fry Bro” (薯條哥) over his proposal to increase funds for lawmakers’ lunches. One Taipei resident, surnamed Liu (劉), told reporters that lawmakers are “cutting so many budgetary items, impacting government and society, yet they want to increase their own meal stipend. But it is not needed, as they are all very well-off and already enjoy lots of perks and subsidies.” Earlier this week when Chang chaired a meeting examining the budget, he said they had recently ordered fast food for lunch when budget review meetings were extended into the afternoon. “But each McDonald’s meal was missing some items,” Chang said. “So we need to boost funds for meals, and should have no problem adjusting this,” he said, suggesting to add NT$10 or NT$20 to the budget. Chang later said that legislators usually order lunch boxes, but at that time, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) wanted to treat everyone to something different, so he ordered from McDonald’s.
CRIME
Rail trespasser sentenced
The Changhua District Court has sentenced a man to three years and two months in prison for trespassing on a railway crossing while riding his motorcycle. The court found the man, surnamed Lai (賴), guilty of an offense against traffic safety, according to the verdict issued on Jan. 14. The ruling said that in June last year, the man raised the gate to cross the railway crossing as warning bells were sounding and warning lights were flashing in an attempt to catch a train at Ershui Station (二水) in Changhua County. The ruling said that the driver of the approaching train saw the trespasser when he was about 60m away and managed to ring the warning bell and hit the brakes in time. Lai was seen speeding off on his motorcycle to the other side, ramming into and breaking the lowered gate. The court said that if the train had hit Lai, it could have derailed and/or caught fire, posing a significant danger. The ruling can be appealed.
ENTERTAINMENT
Local films at Berlin festival
Three Taiwanese movies have been shortlisted for this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, which takes place from Feb. 13 to Feb. 23. The drama Eel (河鰻) by Chu Chun-teng (朱駿騰) has been nominated for the Perspectives section, the drama Silent Sparks (愛作歹) by Chu Ping (朱平) for the Panorama section, and the satire The Trio Hall (三廳電影) by Su Hui-yu (蘇匯宇) for the Forum section. Tricia Tuttle, director of the festival, said on Tuesday at a press event that 14 feature-length films had made the Perspectives section, which is dedicated to debut films. Notably, five of the productions were directed by women and two of them by nonbinary directors, she said. The new category brings together filmmakers with audacious ideas from around the world and is eclectic in styles and themes, Tuttle said. This year’s edition of Berlinale is set to be the first under the leadership of Tuttle, an American, who became the festival’s director in April last year. Previously she was with the British Film Institute (BFI) overseeing the BFI London Film Festival.
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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