AFP, ZAGREBFor those struggling to piece together the black holes of a boozy night, a one-of-a-kind museum in Zagreb is offering up some inspiration. The “Museum of Hangovers,” which opened in the Croatian capital this month, is showcasing objects and amusing stories from drunken escapades around the globe. “We wanted to collect objects that people woke up with without knowing where they picked them up,” said 24-year-old Roberta Mikelic, who opened the museum with her boyfriend, Rino Dubokovic. The museum, which the duo said is the first of its kind, currently focuses solely on the “fun” side of these forgotten nights. However, they plan to also delve into the dangers of binge drinking and blacking out in the future.

AFP, MANILAThousands of people in the typhoon-prone central Philippines yesterday had their Christmas plans ruined after they were told to leave their homes as a severe tropical storm approaches. Officials on Christmas Eve said that residents should evacuate coastal areas, while thousands more were stranded at ports with ferry services shut down as the nation hunkered down for rain and strong winds. The weather service said that Phanfone, Laotian for “animal,” could strengthen into a typhoon overnight with sustained peak winds of more than 120kph. It advised residents, including those in Manila, to stay indoors on Christmas Day to avoid the high winds that can cause damage to weaker structures. Homes built with flimsy materials, as well as populated areas along the coasts, floodplains and mountainous interiors, are often the most vulnerable.

By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterTwo Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they suspect the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of monitoring the Internet under the guise of fighting misinformation, while actually trying to frame public discussion to its own benefit. The former classmate and her mother would be willing to talk about the experience in person, he added. Chen was referring to a controversy over Tsai’s doctoral dissertation. Tsai has filed a defamation lawsuit against Ho, Lin and Peng over the matter. KMT Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) at the news conference questioned whether police were trying to cause a “chilling effect” to make people afraid of expressing their opinions online.

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe number of emergency hospital visits for flu-like illness has exceeded the epidemic threshold, marking the start of the flu epidemic period in the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. There were also 55 cases of serious flu complications, including five deaths, confirmed last week, the highest weekly number since the flu season began in October, he said, adding that most of the cases were caused by the A(H1N1) virus. Although the epidemic period started two weeks earlier than in the previous two years, it is not considered an abnormal phenomenon, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said. The situation is similar to that of Japan, which has entered the epidemic period, but has not reached the peak, Lo said. People should seek immediate treatment at large hospitals when signs of serious complications occur, he said.

Evangelical Christians make up about 25 percent of the US population. On Friday next week, Trump is to hold an “Evangelicals for Trump coalition launch” in Miami. Graham’s son, Franklin, had slammed the original Christianity Today editorial and said his father knew Trump, believed in him and voted for him, an endorsement that other family members dispute. Christianity Today, founded in 1956, has a limited impact in the evangelical community, Lancaster Seminary New Testament professor Greg Carey said. “There are those who feel that a crack in that foundation [of evangelical support of Trump] is a threat” that needs to be patched, Carey said.

During a speech in Tokyo on Sunday, Numata said that the margin between Han and Tsai could be about 5 percentage points or less. Having ruled Taiwan for 50 years, the Japanese government remains well-connected in the nation, Alex Tsai said yesterday. The KMT has bounced back from rock bottom and is set to catch up with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the elections, he said. The findings confirmed that “there is an Internet army that is directly taking instructions from DPP headquarters,” Alex Tsai said. Huang later filed defamation charges against Chiu, Alex Tsai and Chang with the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office.

AFP, WASHINGTONJust steps from the US Capitol in Washington, the Newseum’s gleaming glass-and-steel structure has for more than a decade been a shining symbol for the press and free expression. However, in a reflection of the woes facing the US media industry — which is itself struggling financially while also facing repeated attacks from political leaders — the Newseum is to close its doors on Tuesday next week. Over its two decades, the Newseum has welcomed about 10 million visitors and hosted hundreds of media events and conferences. “I was looking at the wall showing the exhibit about journalists killed in action, and it makes me realize how important a free press is,” she said. “In the current political climate, it’s so important for kids to be media-literate, to learn about the value of a free press.”

Foreign domestic workers in Taiwan do not have a weekly mandatory rest day, despite this being a global standard already enforced in Hong Kong and Singapore. According to statistics by the Ministry of Labor (MOL), 34.7 percent of foreign domestic workers did not receive any days off last year. It also hinders the ability of foreign domestic workers to take advantage of growing opportunities provided by the government and civil society for training and education. More than 700,000 were working here at the end of last year, over a third of whom were domestic helpers or care-takers. Foreign domestic workers are not protected by the Labor Standards Act, which prescribes two regular days off every seven days.

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications could revoke Far Eastern Air Transport’s (FAT) license if it does not improve its operations, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “The airline’s flight services have been suspended and would not resume before next month’s Lunar New Year holiday,” Lin said. The Financial Supervisory Commission and CAA are to look into FAT’s financial situation, which lacks transparency, he added. “From the ministry’s perspective, we care most about aviation safety issues, which are also linked to the airline’s financial situation. We hope that the airline can show that it is really working toward resuming fight services,” Lin said.

Han as a candidate is bland and lacks an interesting platform, or a platform that the people can understand, which has contributed to his dwindling support, Chang added. Conversely, support for the PFP is on the rise, which is partly due to the KMT’s lackluster performance and people’s disappointment over Han’s failure to defeat Tsai, causing them to transfer their expectations to Soong, Chang said. Soong has called on all candidates to cease their useless war of words and instead focus on the presentation today, Chang said, adding that Soong’s performance would let the public see how he differs from Han. The PFP’s goal is to overtake Han by Saturday, and catch up with Tsai and surpass her before Jan. 11, voting day, Chang said. At a separate event, Soong said that if he is elected, he would only serve for one term to lay down a solid foundation that would enable any future president to help spread democracy.

By Hsieh Chun-lin / Staff reporterThe Control Yuan yesterday censured the Taipei City Government for failing to avoid a conflict of interest during then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) time in office that might have resulted in profiteering by a development firm in the Zhongxing Shanzhuang (中興山莊) urban renewal project. The KMT “rented” the plot to the KMT Central Committee, which paid rent only briefly, essentially occupying it, Kao said, adding that Yeh had to continue to pay land taxes. Yeh later offered to sell the plot for NT$200 per ping (3.3m2), but accepted the KMT’s counteroffer of NT$105 per ping, he said. As the KMT had promised the city government that 5,800 ping of land from the plot would be donated for the relocation of Taipei Municipal Yongjian Elementary School, the land was marked for government use, he said. Ma, who at the time was also KMT vice chairman and should have avoided a conflict of interest, approved the rezoning, Kao said.

BloombergBMW AG is being scrutinized by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its sales reporting practices, months after the regulator extracted a penalty from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV over similar issues. The German automaker has been contacted by the SEC and would cooperate fully with its investigation, BMW spokesman Phil DiIanni said by telephone. The agency does not comment on the existence of any probes, SEC spokesman Kevin Callahan said. Fiat Chrysler in September agreed to pay a US$40 million penalty related to years of sales reports the SEC said were fraudulent. The Wall Street Journal had reported on the SEC’s investigation of BMW earlier in the day.

BloombergDefaults across Asia could be headed even higher next year, with trouble seen especially in China and India. Those factors could make things even worse next year after China onshore defaults rose to a record this year. Meanwhile, troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co (海航集團) faces a crucial test — avoiding its first public bond default. Growing trade linkages between China and the rest of Asia also leave other regional economies vulnerable to the nation’s weakening growth. “The Chinese slowdown and the potential for defaults in China, perhaps that’s also having a knock-on effect regionally,” Kidd said.

He also writes that Taiwanese are always looking for a safety valve through which to vent their concerns and frustrations. However, elections during the Martial Law era were not entirely devoid of positives. The Chinese academic and philosopher Hu Shih (胡適) once used them to differentiate Taiwan from China and the Soviet Union. These results were also used by the New York Times and the Hong Kong Times as evidence that Taiwan had free elections. Non-KMT victories were few and far between, and then only because of the persistence of upstanding individuals fighting the good fight.

When Taiwanese and Hong Kong tour agencies began offering a four-day package tour focusing on Taiwan’s election culture, spaces sold out quickly. Those who are used to the nation’s election frenzy might forget how unique Taiwan’s situation is in Asia. For example, there have been LGBT+ tours to show visitors the landmarks and events that finally made Taiwan the first nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, so election tours would make sense. Tourism is changing fast and there have been many efforts by tour companies to offer more meaningful experiences, with the election tour’s “Walk in Taiwan” being a prime example. However, experiences like election tours are key to understanding Taiwan’s current affairs, which is what it desperately needs in the face of Chinese oppression.