AFP, WASHINGTONBoeing was yesterday set to launch its Starliner capsule on a crewless eight-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, a dry run for NASA’s plans to end US dependence on Russia for space rides. NASA has been forced to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts since the Space Shuttle program was shuttered in 2011 following 30 years of service. Both companies are running two years behind schedule, but appear almost ready: Approval now rests on the successful completion of final tests. “It’s been eight-and-a-half years, far too long, in my opinion,” said Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, who commanded the last Shuttle mission in 2011 and is set to be on Starliner’s first crewed mission. About 25 hours later, it is to dock autonomously with the space station, 400km above sea level.

AFP, MACAUMacau yesterday celebrated 20 years since the former Portuguese colony was returned to China, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) praising the pliant gambling hub for its patriotism, a stark contrast to protest-ravaged Hong Kong. Throughout his three-day visit, Xi has seized on Macau’s comparative political calm, a theme he continued in a landmark speech yesterday as he presided over Ho’s swearing-in ceremony. “We will definitely not allow any foreign forces to interfere with Hong Kong and Macau affairs,” Xi said. However, while Hong Kong seethes with popular resentment toward Beijing, Macau has steadily become more like the mainland. Xi also singled out mainland style anti-sedition laws in Macau that have been bitterly opposed for years in Hong Kong.

By Steven Crook / Contributing reporterTwice in the last fortnight I’ve been to Kaohsiung’s Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店水庫), and not just because it’s a toponym I adore. The Fujianese migrants who arrived in the 17th century changed the pronunciation to “A-kong tiam,” and applied it to both the town now known as Gangshan (岡山) and the stream called Agongdian Creek (阿公店溪). Agongdian Creek was dammed in the early 1950s to create a reservoir with a surface area of 410 hectares. A 2009 survey of 59 reservoirs in Taiwan found Agongdian to be among the five worst affected. In the case of Agongdian Reservoir, an estimated 32 percent of its catchment area is devoted to orchards.

By Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNATaipei Medical University (TMU) is featuring digitized artworks from the National Palace Museum in an exhibition where visitors use augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) facilities to appreciate national treasures such as the Shueishalian Trail (水沙連古道) or study patterns on ancient bronze vessels. The National Palace Museum Pop-Up Exhibition, held on the first floor of the university’s Xing-Chun Building, runs until Wednesday next week, the university said in a news release yesterday. In addition to AR and VR, the exhibition showcases cloud learning and interactive teaching, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in virtual surroundings that incorporate scenes from museum paintings, it said. Over the past few years, the university has been promoting the use of digital technologies such as AR and VR for creative pedagogy, hoping to encourage students to embark on independent study remotely to enhance their interdisciplinary knowledge, university president Lin Chien-huang (林建煌) said. Interactive games and do-it-yourself experiences offered in the exhibition can spark the imagination and creativity of the students and faculty, and bring more of the arts and humanities into the university, Lin said.

AFP, LA PAZBolivia’s attorney general on Wednesday ordered the arrest of exiled former Bolivian president Evo Morales after the interim government accused him of sedition and terrorism. Morales last month fled Bolivia after civil unrest broke out following his re-election in an Oct. 20 poll widely dismissed as rigged. Morales governed the South American country for almost 14 years before resigning last month and leaving Bolivia. In the recording, Morales allegedly tells one of his supporters to block trucks and interrupt the food supply to several cities. Right-wing then-Bolovian Senate president Jeanine Anez took over as interim president and has vowed to call new elections early next year, although no date has been set.

AFP, SHANGHAIOne of China’s top universities has removed references to “freedom of thought” from its official charter, triggering a rare act of student defiance, while two other institutions have moved to strengthen their allegiance to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). A video circulated this week showed students at Shanghai’s Fudan University gathering to sing the school song — which extols “academic independence and freedom of thought” — in an apparent protest against the move. Fudan’s charter change was announced by the Chinese Ministry of Education on its Web site late on Tuesday and quickly became a hot topic on social media, with posts questioning the move before China’s online censors deleted posts and blocked discussion. He also called in a speech last year for Marxism to be promoted in campuses and classrooms. However, even Marxist students have faced a backlash, as police cracked down on some who supported a labor rights movement last year.

AFP, STRASBOURG, FRANCEThe daughter of jailed Uighur academic Ilham Tohti received the EU’s top rights prize on his behalf on Wednesday, saying she did not even know if he was still alive. Tohti ran the UighurOnline Web site, which wrote in Uighur and Chinese about social issues, gaining prominence as a moderate voice drawing attention to ethnic tensions in the region. Ilham said the release of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov — who also won the Sakharov Prize while behind bars — gave her hope for her father. “I was just told one of the recent laureates of the Sakharov Prize was released from prison. “My father created a Web site to create a platform for Uighurs, Chinese and other minority people to post articles and their understanding freely on the Web site and join discussion forums,” she said.

Reuters, BEIJINGChina yesterday introduced a new list of tariff exemptions for imports from the US, days after the world’s two largest economies announced a “phase one” trade deal. The tariff waivers are to take effect on Thursday next week and are to apply to six items, most of them chemical products, such as white oil, high-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and food-grade petroleum wax, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said. China said it would continue to work on the product exemptions and release a second waiver list at an appropriate time. China and the US are in close communication over the signing of their “phase one” trade deal, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said. The deal would see lower US tariffs on Chinese goods, and higher purchases of US farm, energy and manufactured goods.

By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterTaiMed Biologics Inc (中裕新藥) yesterday dismissed speculation that it is having financial difficulties because of declining sales of its Trogarzo HIV treatment in the US. “Chang shared why sales were weaker than expected, but he also said he was upbeat that sales would improve next year. However, rumors surfaced the next day — that TaiMed is facing financial trouble or that it is bound to shut down,” TaiMed chief financial officer Jack Chen (陳怡成) told the Taipei Times by telephone. “It would take time for sales to boom as our drug is new and a fourth-line treatment,” Chen said, adding that sales are expected to improve next year. TaiMed has free cash flow of more than NT$1.6 billion and gross margin improved to 40 percent last quarter, he said.

By Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday approved a request by the Kaohsiung Police Department for backup to maintain order in the city as two marches for and against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) are to take place tomorrow. The department requested the backup in the hope that it would be prepared for any possible clashes stemming from the “highly confrontational” events, Kolas said, adding that the agency had granted the request. As disinformation abounds before elections, politicians should avoid misleading the public, which would not be in the nation’s interests, she said. The man was detained by police in Kaohsiung on Saturday last week following a raid and gunfight. It also warned of anticipated traffic congestion along the events’ routes and on the Kaohsiung MRT.

AP, PANAMA CITYAuthorities on Wednesday raised to 15 the death toll from a gunfight the previous day inside a lockup near Panama City and fired top penitentiary officials amid an investigation into what touched off the country’s deadliest incident of prison violence. 2, as well as other officials responsible for police guard at La Joyita prison and another one nearby. The Panamanian Ministry of Government added in a report that nine wounded prisoners remained hospitalized, including one in a critical condition. Tuesday’s gunfight took place between incarcerated members of the same gang at a cellblock housing more than 500 inmates. Pope Francis visited the prison in January, when he visited Panama for World Youth Day.

Chu yesterday said that regardless of the authenticity of the reports, at the very least the KMT would not accuse the DPP of colluding with the CCP. The DPP accuses the KMT of selling out Taiwan whenever KMT members meet with CCP officials, he said. In contrast, when the DPP meets with CCP officials, it considers them normal cross-strait exchanges, he added. “Of all the DPP officials, which one of them can say that they have never met with an important CCP figure?” Chu asked. Asked about the purported evidence, DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that he hopes the KMT will stop bluffing.

AFP, LOS ANGELESThe Rise of Skywalker was meant to provide a satisfying conclusion to nine Star Wars films but for many critics, its aim was as wide of the mark as a stormtrooper in a blaster battle. It has a score of 59 percent from around 200 critics on movies website Rotten Tomatoes — the worst of any live-action Star Wars episode since the panned prequel The Phantom Menace two decades ago. “The long term prospects will depend on solid word of mouth propelling the film to greater and greater heights worldwide week after week,” he added. The film opened in several markets Wednesday including France, Germany and China, ahead of its arrival in US theaters on general release today. French fan club Planete Star Wars leapt to the film’s defense following its release there Wednesday.

AFP, APIASamoa has passed a law to make childhood vaccinations compulsory as the Pacific nation continues efforts to contain a devastating measles outbreak that by yesterday had killed 77 people, mostly infants. Village councils and schools are expected to have policies in place to ensure all children are vaccinated. Organizations such as the WHO and the UN Children’s Fund have blamed the low immunization rates that left Samoa vulnerable to measles on anti-vaccination misinformation spread online by overseas-based activists. Other measles outbreaks in Pacific nations that had higher vaccination rates have been more easily contained and not resulted in any deaths. Infants are the most vulnerable to measles, which typically causes a rash and fever, but can also lead to brain damage and death.

By Noah Buchan / Staff reporterWhen Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, the world’s oldest, largest and arguably most famous, closed last year, laments echoed throughout the globe. Shen repeatedly visited the area starting from 1993 to capture the rise of Tsukiji and the people and tourists that made it come alive before it was relocated. Whenever in Tokyo, Shen would find himself mingling among the market’s morning crowds. Shen manages to capture both the mystique of why the market was attractive to tourists, but also the banality of its daily grind. Tsukiji Fish Market records an objective perspective to the market’s development up until it closed last year.