WEATHER
North, center to see rain
Steady rainfall is forecast for northern and central Taiwan today, along with isolated showers in the south, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Weather conditions would become gradually drier tomorrow and on Wednesday, with rain mostly limited to northern and eastern Taiwan, he said. Temperatures would also gradually rebound during that three-day period, as the cold front weakens, Wu said. The weather during the Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day holiday weekend would be “more or less stable,” with clear to mostly cloudy weather and warming temperatures for most of Taiwan, and a chance of isolated showers in the east, he said.
Photo: CNA
TOURISM
Kenting rental to be fined
A guesthouse in Kenting National Park would be fined for contravening price control rules, after an investigation found it increased its room rate by almost 900 percent for dates in early April, when two major festivals are to be held. It is facing fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000 for price gouging, and NT$40,000 for exceeding the allowed room count, authorities said yesterday, citing regulations in the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例). The inspection was conducted following the discovery of an illegal guesthouse in Kenting, which had raised its room rates from NT$895 (US$26.94) to NT$7,980 per night, higher than the approved range for a price hike. The Taiwan Music Festival is to be held in Kenting from April 3 to 5, and overlaps with the national four-day holiday from April 3 to 6 for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival.
CRIME
Rapist handed 22 years
A go tutor has been sentenced to 22 years for molesting 12 children up to 64 times in total. The New Taipei District Court on Wednesday last week found the defendant surnamed Lee (李) guilty of contravening the Criminal Code for molesting children below the age of 14, with the youngest reportedly six years old, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法), and the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) by filming the children as he abused them, it said. The case came to light on Sept. 1 last year, when a victim’s parents reported Lee’s misconduct. He had been operating an unlicensed go classroom where he installed cameras. Authorities inspected the site the following day, seizing video evidence and later identifying 12 people. The New Taipei City Education Department also fined Lee NT$250,000 (US$7,553.55) last year and ordered the immediate closure of his “classroom.”
CINEMA
Film event begins today
The Ministry of Culture and the British Film Institute (BFI) are to host “Myriad Voices: Reframing Taiwan New Cinema” in London from today until April 30. The event would feature 15 films, showcasing works by renowned directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Edward Yang (楊德昌), Wang Toon (王童), Wan Jen (萬仁), Chang Yi (張毅), Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚) and Huang Yu-shan (黃玉珊), the ministry said. Chen and Huang are to attend select screenings to share their insights on Taiwan New Cinema, it added. The Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK said the collaboration with BFI marks a significant milestone and reflects their commitment to fostering cultural exchange through cinema. They said they hope the event raises the profile of Taiwanese films in the UK and help the British gain a better understanding of Taiwanese cinema.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
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
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
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
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