INTERNATIONAL
Work holiday program opens
A reciprocal working holiday program between Taiwan and Israel is open for applications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. It allows up to 200 people aged between 18 and 30 from each country to work in the other country for up to one year. The agreement was signed by both sides on May 3, 2023, the ministry said. The program would give young people a chance to experience life in another country, learn about each other’s cultures, and deepen mutual understandings and friendships, it added. For more information on how to apply, visit https://www.youthtaiwan.net or https://new.embassies.gov.il/taipei/zh-hant, the ministry said.
Photo: Taipei Times
SOCIETY
Two dead in scooter crash
Two 19-year-old Filipino students enrolled at a technology university in Kaohsiung were killed in a scooter crash in the city’s Cijin District (旗津) early yesterday morning, police said. They were riding a scooter southbound on Cijin 3rd Road (旗津三路) at 4:30am when they struck a roadside curb, the police said. The passenger, identified by his Chinese surname Su (蘇) on his student ID, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, identified by his Chinese surname Ou (歐) on his student ID, was taken to the hospital, but was later declared dead. Police said the cause of the crash is still being investigated. Authorities urged motorcyclists to stay alert, maintain safe speeds and exercise caution, especially during periods of low visibility, such as at nighttime or early morning.
SOCIETY
Beloved nun dies
Sister Giusebbiana Frongia, an Italian-born nun who became a Taiwanese citizen in 2017, passed away on Friday at the age of 93 after dedicating 65 years to caring for underprivileged children in a remote village in Hsinchu County, Jhubei City Mayor Cheng Chao-fang (鄭朝方) said. Cheng announced the death of Sister Giusebbiana, who was also known by her Chinese name, Chao Hsiu-jung (趙秀容), on Friday. Born in Sardinia in 1932, Frongia came to Taiwan in 1960 and dedicated her life to educating indigenous children in Hsinchu County’s Jianshi Township (尖石) and missionary work, Cheng said, adding that she built a Catholic church and a kindergarten there and spent decades supporting and assisting the indigenous Atayal people. Calling her “Taiwan’s equivalent of Mother Teresa,” Cheng said Frongia — known as “Mumu” (mother in the Atayal language) — left a legacy of enduring love in Taiwan.
POLITICS
Pro-Taiwan party renamed
The pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (台灣團結聯盟) has officially changed its name to the Taiwan Solidarity Party (台聯黨), party Chairwoman Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said yesterday. Chou said that the party’s original name in Chinese is too much of a mouthful. The name change is intended to usher in a fresh start, she said. The party has stronger support in central and southern Taiwan, where many residents regard former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) as its spiritual leader, Chou said. Following Lee’s passing, many people mistakenly believed the party had disbanded or faded into obscurity, “but we are still here,” she said. The word “union” in the party’s former name sometimes led people to mistake it for a club or society, rather than a political party. Founded 24 years ago with the aim of bolstering Taiwan and its economy, the party has always prioritized the nation’s interests, she said, adding that its platforms differ from those of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
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