Novelist who told stories of post-war life in Taiwan passes away aged 95
Novelist who told stories of post-war life in Taiwan passes away aged 95Staff writer, with CNAA doyen of Taiwan’s “nativist literature movement,” Chung Chao-cheng (鍾肇政) passed away at his home in Taoyuan on Saturday, his family said. Premier Su Tseng-chang pays his respects to Taiwanese author Chung Chao-cheng, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 95, at the Wude Hall in Taoyuan’s Longtan District yesterday. In a Facebook post, Tsai also praised Chung Chao-cheng for playing an important role in promoting Hakka culture and Taiwanese literature. Writer Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) said Chung Chao-cheng had a tremendous impact on the development of Taiwanese literature. The Hakka Affairs Council said Chung Chao-cheng was not only a prolific writer, but a devoted promoter of Hakka affairs who helped promote awareness of Hakka culture at a national level.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Academic designs covers for masks
Academic designs covers for masksBy Hung Jui-chin and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerAn academic has designed fabric covers for masks in a bid to inject fashion and aesthetics into disease prevention efforts. Cho Yen-ting (卓彥廷), an associate professor at National Cheng Kung University’s Institute of Creative Industries Design, created three mask covers, called Bloomsbury Square, Dreamscape and White Palace, under his brand Yen Ting Cho, the university said in a news release on Friday. The first 200 covers produced are to be donated to the university, which has dedicated considerable efforts to disease prevention, Cho said, adding that he hopes the patterns on the covers can cheer people up. National Cheng Kung University president Su Huey-jen, left, and designer Cho Yen-Ting, center, who is also an associate professor at the university, on Friday in Tainan display a fashionable array of masks Cho designed and the university helped produce. His brand has also won international recognition, as his creations can be seen in internationally renowned art museums, such as the Texas-based Nasher Sculpture Center and the Saint Petersburg-based design center of Bulthaup, a German kitchenware brand, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
CWB lifts sea alert for Vongfong
Between tomorrow and Saturday, the front, combined with a southwest wind, would bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall nationwide. The Central Weather Bureau has lifted the sea alert for Tropical Storm Vongfong, but has also said that people should brace for extremely heavy rain from today. The water level on Saturday fell to 221.96m, storing 56.6 million tonnes of water, the Northern Region Water Resources Office. Following the rain and convective heat transfer, the water level yesterday reached 223.79m, storing 64 million tonnes of water. Before the end of next month, the reservoir would need an additional 47 million tonnes to supply the public, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Committee quashes island heritage site petition
Committee quashes island heritage site petitionFINDING: As Turtle Island no longer has permanent residents, after they were relocated to Toucheng Township in 1974, it does not meet the requirements for a heritage siteBy Lin Ching-lun and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA petition to recognize Yilan County’s Turtle Island (Gueishan Island, 龜山島) as a county-level cultural heritage site was turned down by a review committee on Friday. The Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau that month visited the island for a preliminary investigation. A boat casts off in Yilan County on Feb. 11, with Turtle Island (Gueishan Island) in the distance. Three years later, the Ministry of National Defense took over Turtle Island and closed it to visitors, installing artillery and building tunnels there. Separately, a Toucheng Township fisheries’ official, Chen Hsiu-nuan (陳秀暖), said that Turtle Island already has certain protections that limit development on the island.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Hota holds ceremony for new plant
Hota holds ceremony for new plantBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterAutomotive components maker Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業) on Friday held a beam-raising ceremony at its new manufacturing plant in the Chiayi Dapumei Precision Machinery Park (嘉義大埔美精密機械園區). The new facilities include a smart plant with automated production lines and a dormitory for 300 employees. The company, which supplies Tesla Inc and BorgWarner Inc, already operates two plants in the same industrial park. Together with the new plant, Hota has so far invested NT$14 billion in the park, Chinese-language media reported on Friday. In the first four months of this year, cumulative revenue fell 20.78 percent year-on-year to NT$1.58 billion, company data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan’s medical system must be bolstered: Chen
Taiwan’s medical system must be bolstered: Chen‘WORKLOAD’: The nation’s medical system is efficient, but operating at peak performance at all times creates problems when extra challenges arise, the minister saidBy Jennifer Huang, Wu Liang-yi and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the nation’s medical system must be bolstered to shoulder disease prevention duties ranging from border controls to aiding local communities, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesA majority of Taiwan’s medical industry is in private hands and benign competition keeps the industry at peak efficiency, he said. Likewise, Taiwan’s medical system is wound too tight and its focus on peak efficiency would mean that when the time comes, its peak performance would be insufficient, Chen said. Public hospitals are comprised of ministry-operated hospitals, military hospitals, veterans’ hospitals, university-affiliated hospitals, and county or city hospitals, but they cannot collaborate, as they operate under different hierarchies, he said. However, the pandemic has highlighted a problem in the NHI system, which is insufficient funding, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Statebuilding Party working to replace cross-strait ties act
Statebuilding Party working to replace cross-strait ties actSETTING CHINA ‘FREE’: Chen Po-wei said Taiwan should acknowledge that China is a sovereign state to ‘spare our neighbor’ oppression by local lawsBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Statebuilding Party is drafting a “China relations act” aimed at replacing the “outdated” Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said yesterday. Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei holds a sign that reads: “Provide Taiwanese with the choice of a new passport that rectifies Taiwan’s title” at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on April 28. The bill would redefine all matters relating to cross-strait exchanges, as well as reinvent the competent authority for cross-strait affairs, Chen wrote, adding that the party would solicit public comment on how the bill should be drafted. Although the issue is seen as a “hot potato,” Chen wrote that he “did not enter the kitchen to complain about the heat.”“No one should apologize for their self-identity,” Chen wrote, quoting the president. However, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) refuses to acknowledge that it is part of the Republic of China, which is the premise of the existing act, Chen wrote.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 16:00 UTC
Taipei T10 finals resume today
Taipei T10 finals resume todayBy Grant Dexter / Staff reporterThe semi-finals of the Taipei T10 Cricket Tournament are scheduled for today at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground after rain halted play halfway through yesterday’s matches. The TCA Indians reached semi-final 1, where PCCT United await, via a qualifier against the FCC Formosans, with TCA and FCC the top teams from group play. Cameraman Michael Geier kicks water from a puddle beside the covers on the pitch at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground after rain stopped play at the Taipei T10 Tournament yesterday. Photo: Grant Dexter, Taipei TimesHowever, the Formosans fell to a four-run loss as captain Manoj Kriplani (0-7) tied down the batsmen with two miserly overs. The Daredevils face the ICCT Smashers today in the playoff for seventh and eighth.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Institute unveils pineapple that smells like a mango
Institute unveils pineapple that smells like a mangoBy Ting Wei-chieh / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute has launched a new pineapple cultivar that smells like a mango and is better adapted to rainy weather, saying it could be a new star of exported fruits. A new variety of pineapple informally called “mango pineapple” is displayed at the Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Station in Chiayi City on Friday. 23 pineapple features a mango smell that would not be affected by the summer weather, with its sweetness and sourness nicely balanced, Kuan said. Dubbed “mango pineapple” by farmers, the new cultivar’s average sweetness reaches 18.2 degrees, with a sourness of about 0.7 degrees, he said, adding that it tastes delicate and does not have apparent fibers. The Japanese market has responded positively to the pineapple, station director Chen Kan-shu (陳甘澍) said, adding that farmers interested in growing it can contact the station for authorization.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan in Times: The overlords of smokes and booze
Or you might hit up one of the ubiquitous contraband vendors and pray not to be caught by the armed Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau (TTL) agents. The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau had its own honor guard back in the day. Cigarettes produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau for the army, left, navy, center and combined logistics command. This sign certifies a store as a licensed distributor of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau products. In May 1947, the bureau took on the name Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau after dropping the matches and weights.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Thousands don masks to take entrance exams
Thousands don masks to take entrance examsPREVENTION PLAN: Of the approximately 210,000 students taking the high-school entrance exams, 12 had a fever and were sent to backup testing centersStaff writer, with CNAMore than 200,000 junior-high school students yesterday began taking their two-day academic assessment examinations, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as they sat for a series of major exams that would determine which high school they get into. The approximately 210,000 students taking the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students exams were required to wear masks, have their temperatures checked and sanitize their hands before they could enter the test venues. All students with a fever were separated from other students and sent to a backup testing center. Students line up at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University before 7am yesterday as they prepare to take the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students exam. Students yesterday took tests for social studies from 8:30am to 9:40am, mathematics from 10:30am to 11:50am, Chinese reading from 1:50pm to 3pm and Chinese composition from 3:50pm to 4:40pm.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Han tells supporters not to vote in recall
Attorney Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元) had filed for an injunction against the recall on the same day that Chiang visited Kaohsiung, Yin said. Han has acted in ways that were an abuse of power, and has torn down signs advertising the recall, Yin added. Wecare organizer Chen Kuan-jung (陳冠榮), the lead petitioner of the campaign to recall Han, said that the mayor has claimed to be focused on municipal duties, when he has actually been working toward stopping the recall. “Han said the recall was no big deal, but to him it clearly is a big deal. Meanwhile, former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — who had previously called on Han’s supporters to vote in opposition to the recall — yesterday said that supporters should respect Han’s wishes, and encouraged them to go out and spend money to support Kaohsiung businesses.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
CWB issues warning for Tropical Storm Vongfong
CWB issues warning for Tropical Storm VongfongStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Vongfong, warning of increasing winds in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. As of 8pm yesterday, Vongfong was about 290km south of the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving northeast at 13kph, bureau data showed. The storm, which had a radius of 80km, was carrying maximum sustained winds of 65kph, with gusts of up to 90kph, the bureau said. People cross a streeet holding umbrellas to shield themselves from heavy rain in Taipei yesterday afternoon. A rainbow spans the Taipei skyline yesterday afternoon after the city was affected by heavy rain caused by Tropical Storm Vongfong.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
‘New York Times’ and others apply to station in Taiwan
‘New York Times’ and others apply to station in TaiwanBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterSeven more foreign news outlets have applied to open bureaus in Taiwan this year, including the New York Times, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, following China’s expulsion of US journalists in March. After the US placed a personnel cap on four Chinese media companies, China responded by banning US reporters for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal from covering news from China, Hong Kong and Macau. “We maintain bureaus in Beijing and Shanghai with correspondents, and are hopeful that the Chinese government will allow all of our reporters to return,” New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times. The number of foreign journalists in Taiwan has increased in the past few years, as the nation’s press freedom has been praised by the global community, she added. Before the nation’s presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11, more than 210 foreign journalists, including nearly 60 originally stationed in Taiwan, had applied for permits to cover the elections, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
After 19 years on death row, Hsieh Chih-hung freed
Hsieh Chih-hung, one of two men convicted of a double murder committed in 2000 and sentenced to death, was found not guilty by the court yesterday. Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei TimesIn September 2018, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, citing new evidence that proved Hsieh’s innocence, filed for a retrial. The High Court on March 14 last year accepted the petition and ordered Hsieh’s sentence to be temporarily suspended. Hsieh Chih-hung, who had been on death row for 19 years for rape and murder, bows toward the bench of the High Court’s Tainan branch yesterday. The collegiate bench convened to preside over the case yesterday cited these reasons as grounds for finding Hsieh innocent.
Source:Taipei Times
May 15, 2020 15:56 UTC