SPORTS
Ethiopian runners win
Ethiopia’s Gadise Mulu Demissie set a new women’s record at the New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon yesterday, with compatriot Masresha Bere Bisetegn coming out top in the men’s race. Demissie finished in 2 hours, 29 minutes and 25 seconds, breaking fellow Ethiopian Bekelech Gudeta Borecha’s 2023 course record by 12 seconds. Bisetegn’s time of 2:13:47 was 4 minutes and 16 seconds slower than the men’s record set by Kenya’s Cyrus Kipkemboi Mutai last year. Chou Ting-yin (周庭印) was the top Taiwanese in the men’s race, placing ninth with a time of 2:26:18. Joymei Lee (李佳玫) was the fastest Taiwanese in the women’s race, finishing eighth with a time of 2:57:03. The organizers said 11,000 runners from 31 countries took part in the marathon and the shorter challenge runs. The annual race features a route along the city’s northeast coast.
Photo: Chen Yi-shan, Taipei Times
TRANSPORT
Railway chair resigns
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Saturday confirmed that Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) chairman Du Wei (杜微) has tendered his resignation, citing plans for his personal career. Du, 65, said that he had served the railway for 40 years and was ready to spend more time with his family. Du started as an intern at Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA), when it was a government agency, and was its last director. When TRA was corporatized in January last year, Du was appointed chairman. Shortly before TRA’s corporatization, Du said that the company could shed its short-term debts by next year and turn a profit by 2028. However, TRC suffered record losses of NT$13.8 billion (US$418.8 million) last year, while its on-time performance rate was 93.5 percent, falling short of the expected 97 percent.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cinema veteran passes
Veteran cinematographer Lin Tsan-ting (林贊庭) has passed away at the age of 94, Taiwan’s Chinese Society of Cinematographers (CSC) said on Saturday. Lin died on Friday at Taipei’s Tri-Service General Hospital, where he was admitted after having a heart attack, the CSC said. Lin received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 58th Golden Horse Awards in 2021 alongside director Tsai Yang-ming (蔡揚名). The late cinematographer, best known for working on Taiwanese Hoklo films, was the first cinematographer to receive the award. He began his career in 1949 as one of the first apprentices at Agriculture Education Motion Pictures, which evolved into the Central Motion Picture Corp in 1954. Learning from techniques used in Japan, Lin helped to transition Taiwan’s film industry to color, the committee said. Over the years, Lin worked on more than 130 films and won four Golden Horse Awards for Best Cinematography.
ENTERTAINMENT
Martial arts star passes
Former martial arts actor Chang Chen-huan (張振寰) has passed away at the age of 65. Chang’s body was found on Friday by authorities responding to reports of a strong odor emanating from a home in Taipei, police said. Preliminary investigations ruled out third-party involvement in Chang’s passing, police said, adding that details of his death have yet to be established. Chang rose to prominence in the Taiwanese movie scene since his debut in 1976 in a fantasy film. Since then, the veteran actor specialized in action roles in fantasy movies and television shows, as well as period pieces in the wuxia (武俠, martial arts) genre, before roles dried up for him due to his age.
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
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