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.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
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