Fri, May 03, 2024
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a plan to allocate NT$28.55 billion (US$878.57 million) for Hualien County reconstruction after it was affected by a earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale on April 3.The approval came after Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) listened to briefings from governme
WHO SAGA: Excluding Taiwan undermines global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands, the US’ top diplomatic official said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement published on Wednesday urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.The US “strongly encourages the WHO to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at this year’s WH
Taiwanese are banned from holding positions in the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), Confucius Institutes and other organizations affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after revisions to a list of prohibited gr
The US Department of State on Wednesday accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces, contravening the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), accusations Moscow denied.In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia used “riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of w
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday announced that his government would break diplomatic relations with Israel in the latest escalation of tensions between the countries over the Israel-Hamas war.Petro again described Israel’s siege of Gaza as “genocide.”He previously suspended purchases
NOVEL METHODS: The PLA has adopted new approaches and recently conducted three combat readiness drills at night which included aircraft and ships, an official said Taiwan is monitoring China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises for changes in their size or pattern as the nation prepares for president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.Tsai made the comment a
SOLIDARITY: ‘Taiwan is a very capable health partner. They have been observers in the WHA before. They deserve to be,’ Daniel Kritenbrink said The US would soon speak on behalf of Taiwan’s bid to take part as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month, a US official said at a US Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.“We will speak out again very soon, as we have consistently every year, in supp
A NECESSITY: Last month’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake underscored the dangers of storing spent fuel in reactor cooling pools and the need to build dry storage facilities Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) and the New Taipei City Government have struck a deal to allow the activation of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant’s spent fuel storage facility, ending an 11-year legal battle, the state-owned electricity company said yesterday.The dry storage facility, which was design
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods.The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be impl
Paintings that are to be shown at the “Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London” exhibition at the Chimei Museum in Tainan — a collaboration between the museum and the National Gallery, London — were unveiled on Wednesday, a day before the exhibition opened yesterday.Organizers of the exhibiti
The Tourism Administration on Tuesday opened its first service center in Europe, at the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris, to provide tourism and travel information on Taiwan.The Taiwan Tourism Information Center was inaugurated to increase the number of travelers visiting Taiwan from Europe, the a
‘GRATUITY’: The Executive Yuan also approved a Ministry of the Interior bill that would offer a NT$75,000 Lunar New Year bonus for borough and village wardens The Executive Yuan yesterday approved an additional NT$100 billion (US$3.08 billion) for the fiscal 2024 budget to subsidize Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) for sustaining severe losses in complying with government policies.The proposal has been forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for ratification.Without
Prosecutors have listed former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as a suspect in a corruption probe relating to the Core Pacific City (京華城) shopping mall redevelopment and the Beitou Shilin Science Park (北投士林科技園區) project.The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office ye
Vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Wednesday called for support from the US Congress and business leaders for Taiwan’s inclusion in the US defense supply chain.“I seek your support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the DoD [US Department of Defense] NDIS [National Defense Industrial Strategy] inter
Members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) yesterday accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) of trying to nullify security laws and undermine national sovereignty in the legislature after returning from China.Fu led 16 KMT lawm
Cranes made in China could prove to be a cybersecurity risk, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said yesterday, citing a warning by White House staff earlier this year that more than 200 cranes made in China were being used at US harbors, and that they constituted a p
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices.Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three p
Taiwan’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month increased 1.5 points to reach 49.4, as new business orders and industrial output returned to growth mode and most firms are upbeat about their business ahead, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) s
Almost all of the central bank’s board members favored a rate hike of 0.125 percentage points to rein in inflation expectations that might run wayward after scheduled electricity tariff increases last month, the minutes of the quarterly board meeting in March showed yesterday.One board member who su
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agri
While the South China Sea has remained a contested region for a long time, it has emerged as a major security flashpoint in the 21st century with the rise of China as an economic and military power. China’s recent moves against the Philippines are therefore seen as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近
Today, Poland celebrates its Constitution Day commemorating the ratification of the first written constitution of its kind in Europe and second in the world which took place in 1791. This reflected the Polish spirit of equality and democratic political tradition that enabled our nation to survive 12
ADVANTAGE: Dortmund’s victory ensured it a place in next season’s Champions League and gives the Bundesliga five teams in the expanded tournament Niclas Fullkrug scored and Borussia Dortmund earned a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck sent a long pass over the top for Fullkrug to control brilliantly with his first touch before firing it past
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.Boston will face the winner of the Cleveland-Orlando series. The Cavaliers lead 3-2.Brown also had six a
Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed some referees have “got it in for me” after his bid to capture a record eighth world snooker title was crushed by Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals.Bingham, the 2015 champion, came through 13-10 and will face Welsh qualifier Jak Jones for a place in the final.Jones stunn
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the u
‘NO VIOLENCE’: Manele called on the public to respect and uphold the democratic process of electing a prime minister and set an example for the next generations Solomon Islands lawmakers yesterday elected former Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeremiah Manele as prime minister.Manele used his first speech as leader to promise to govern with integrity and to put his nation’s interests first.“I will discharge my duties diligently and with integrit
‘INSANE WAR’: Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, said that a ceasefire would not happen if it meant ‘raising the white flag to the conditions of the Israeli enemy’ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Hamas to accept a Gaza truce plan despite an Israeli warning that the army would keep fighting the Palestinian militant group after any ceasefire.Mediators have proposed a truce deal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange dozens of h
A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally for helping relieve his depression for nearly a decade said that he is searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia.Joie Henney has thousands of people following his social media pages devoted to Wal
Moritz Mieg, 22, lay face down in the rubble, the ground shaking violently beneath him. Boulders crashed down around him, some stones hitting his back. “I just hoped that it would be one big hit and over, because I did not want to be hit nearly to death and then have to slowly die,” the student from
A breakout moment in Hollywood can happen at any age and stage. This summer at the movies, there are plenty of talents to discover, from the formerly incarcerated man whose story inspired the film he stars in to the It bully whose childhood dream of playing an ape in a movie came true.Here are five
It’s a musical mystery that has been confounding the internet for years. But an ultra-catchy 80s-sounding song that seemingly no one could identify has finally been tracked down — in a 1986 adult movie.A snippet of the song, known as Everyone Knows That — a low-quality, warped recording that neverth
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc.B: That’s just outrageous!A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty.B: The buyers and sellers shoul
A: Entertainer Mickey Huang’s #MeToo scandal has kept snowballing.B: Didn’t Huang just escape prosecution on several sexual misconduct charges due to a lack of evidence?A: He has now been accused of raping a woman identified as "Miss K."B: It’s like one trouble follows another!A: His decent “pe
In Taiwan, a quick stop at a local convenience store allows you to grab a hot dog whenever you want. But have you ever wondered how this popular snack got its unique name and became a leading light of American cuisine? First, the name “hot dog” is actually a combination of different ideas. Vendors
It’s certainly been a pleasure watching the presidential campaign launch of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) lurch painfully about like a wounded pachyderm in search of an elephant graveyard. Hou’s fall to third place in some polls last week appears early, and it might still be recoverable. But grumbling in his party about replacing him has already begun. Indeed, all indications are that the party that twice gave us Lien Chan (連戰), the most despised politician in Taiwan, as a presidential candidate and later offered voters Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), is arcing along its normal descending trajectory, the North Korean missile test of electoral politics. A KIND OF POLICY PLATFORM Last week the KMT doubled down on this path with Hou’s calls for nuclear power and more death penalty executions, standard KMT fare for decades (the latter is unnecessary since so many potential criminals are likely to die in traffic accidents long before they harm anyone). Apparently KMT policy institutions are not echo chambers so much as mausoleums where dead ideas are embalmed and then periodically put on display. The lack of public policy imagination is obvious. A less obvious facet of KMT ineptitude: with years of speculation that Hou would be their man in 2024, neither Hou nor the party insisted on interesting or experimental public policies to showcase Hou’s greatness in preparation for the showdown. Of course, that is even more true of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Hou’s slide and the media buzz surrounding it are obscuring the truly urgent problem the pro-Taiwan side faces: DPP presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) has not expanded his voter support beyond the party base. In most polls he remains below 40 percent. Independent voters are staying away in droves, and for the moment the young are turning to
July 17 to July 23 When Yeh Ken-chuang (葉根壯) came of age, the traditional skills of architecture and carpentry that had been in his family for four generations were disappearing. After helping his uncle Yeh Teh-ling (葉得令) construct ships, residences and temples for more than a decade, Yeh struck out on his own at the age of 28 in 1960 as a damusi (大木司, chief carpenter), earning his lifelong title “Chief Chuang” (壯司). Around this time, builders in his homeland of Penghu were increasingly using reinforced concrete instead of wood, due to the humid climate. The period also saw a frenzy in temple construction as the economy improved, meaning there was plenty of work for Yeh. Adept in non-structural techniques such as doors, windows and furniture, as well as the intricate carvings and detailed decorations that adorned the structures, Yeh was able to adapt his skills, leading the reconstruction of the historic Hsiliao Daitian Temple (西寮代天宮) on Penghu’s main island in 1963. According to the book Crossing Traditions in Yeh Ken-chuang’s Large-scale Carpentry Skills (宮廟巧藝 :跨越傳統的葉根壯大木作技術), it was Penghu’s first temple that used a purely reinforced concrete structure. Before his life was cut short, Yeh created more than 70 temples and related structures across the various islands of Penghu and left behind more than 230 building plans. Although Yeh could have built temples and other structures on Taiwan proper, he only worked on a handful of projects outside of Penghu because he wanted to be close to his family. CLAN OF CARPENTERS The Yeh family’s woodworking tradition began with Yeh Ma-li (葉媽利), who learned the architecture and carpentry trade from an unknown master on Kinmen. The Yehs trace their roots to Kinmen, although this branch had been living in Penghu since the early 1600s. Yeh Ma-li was Penghu’s chief temple builder between 1860 and
New Taipei City | 14-23 | 10% | |
Hsinchu County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hsinchu City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Taipei City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Miaoli County | 12-22 | 10% | |
Taoyuan City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Keelung City | 15-21 | 10% |
Yunlin County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Taichung City | 14-24 | 0% | |
Nantou County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Changhua County | 14-23 | 0% |
Chiayi County | 13-24 | 0% | |
Chiayi City | 14-25 | 0% | |
Tainan City | 15-22 | 0% | |
Kaohsiung City | 17-23 | 0% | |
Pingtung County | 16-25 | 0% |
Yilan County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hualien County | 16-22 | 10% | |
Taitung County | 17-23 | 10% |
Kinmen County | 11-18 | 0% | |
Penghu County | 17-20 | 0% | |
Lienchiang County | 10-13 | 10% |