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.
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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