Tue, Nov 26, 2024
TAKING OFF: In addition to NT$7 million each from the Sports Administration, Starlux said it would offer players and coaches round-trip business-class tickets Taiwanese fighter jets yesterday welcomed home a flight carrying the national baseball team after their historic victory in Japan at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12.Taiwan’s 4-0 win over defending champions Japan in the prestigious Premier12 final at the Tokyo Dome on Su
An approaching weather system would push temperatures in northern Taiwan down to about 12°C between tomorrow and Saturday, forecasters said.The week got off to a warm start yesterday, with temperatures rising to the mid to upper-20s and sunny to partly cloudy weather across most of Taiwan, the Centr
‘EXISTENTIAL CHALLENGE’: Opinions differ on whether the treaty should cap plastic production, ban possibly toxic chemicals and how to pay for implementation A final round of talks on a treaty to curb plastic pollution opened yesterday, with deep differences between nations emerging almost immediately.The meeting opened just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries
Uruguay’s leftist opposition candidate, Yamandu Orsi, became the nation’s new president in a tight runoff on Sunday, ousting the conservative governing coalition and making the South American nation the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections worldwide.Even as the vote c
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT: Cooperation among democracies is more important than ever, as autocracies become more confident, former president Tsai said at the forum Ukraine’s victory in repelling an ongoing Russian invasion would be the best deterrent to authoritarian expansion, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at an international security event in Canada on Saturday.Tsai made the remarks at the annual Halifax International Security Forum (Halifax Forum
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time.Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the f
SAFETY NOTICE: People should buy food products close to their original color, avoid those that are too white or too bright, and check labeling, an official said A random inspection of dried, pickled or preserved vegetable and fruit products sold online resulted in 13 of 24 items failing inspection, a failure rate of 54 percent, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. More consumers have been buying food products through online shopping platforms ove
PROBED: Chen allegedly identified people needing transplants while working in Changhua County and he assigned a nurse to go to China, prosecutors said A surgeon and four others were indicted yesterday in Changhua County for allegedly facilitating illegal organ transplants in China. In a news release, the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office said that Chen Yao-li (陳堯俐), a transplant specialist based in Changhua, orchestrated a criminal group that
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history wi
The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday announced that it would implement standardized contracts as early as next year to better regulate the pet grooming industry. The national pet grooming market has reached NT$10 billion (US$307.83 million), part of the overall NT$60 billion pet industry, the Depar
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources famili
A coast guard official was sentenced to six years and two months in prison by a Kaohsiung court yesterday for selling classified information to a Chinese national.The Ciaotou District Court found the defendant, identified by her surname, Wu (吳), guilty of bribery-related offenses while she was worki
Three ranking employees at a technology group have been sentenced to jail for defrauding the navy by selling it Chinese equipment, racking up NT$82.59 million (US$2.54 million) in illicit profits, the New Taipei District Court said yesterday.The court handed Lai Cheng-hsing (賴正興), who was responsibl
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to more clearly define which actions count as “undermining the nation’s national security,” aiming to penalize retired military officers who support Chinese propaganda activities.DPP legislators Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), Michelle Lin
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday wrapped up his visit to Lithuania, Poland and Belgium, the ministry said, adding that the trip has helped deepen the democratic cooperation between Taiwan and Europe.Lin on Nov. 16 started his visit to Europe, where he met with several Taiwan
EXPORT GROWTH: Taiwan’s exposure to a trade dispute would be smaller compared with other economies given its leading position in advanced manufacturing, UBS said Taiwan’s GDP might grow 3.2 percent next year following 4.2 percent growth this year, on the back of strong export growth, but possibly tempered due to less friendly trade terms following US president-elect Donald Trump’s return to power in January, Switzerland-based UBS Group said yesterday.“We pro
‘ROBUST’: The production of computers and optical products last month rose 4.35 percent annually due to the demand for AI applications and semiconductor tools The industrial production index expanded 8.85 percent annually to 100.6 last month as robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and high-performance computing (HPC) devices fueled demand for advanced chips and data centers, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.The index
Sales in the retail sector last month declined by 0.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$410.9 billion (US$12.65 billion), compared with an annual increase of 3.2 percent the previous month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.Last month’s decline missed the ministry’s estimate of growth
The National Science and Technology Council has conducted an annual national science and technology trends survey since 1981 to highlight the state of domestic research and development (R&D) activities and provide input and recommendations to the government for drafting science and technology polici
Taiwan hosted the third edition of the Taiwan-India dialogue on Nov. 14. The dialogue, jointly hosted by the Taipei-based Taiwan Asia Exchange Foundation and India’s premier think tank, the Observer Research Foundation, has evolved into an important platform for policy-oriented discussions. Although
US President-elect Donald Trump has been declaring his personnel picks for his incoming Cabinet. Many are staunchly opposed to China. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Trump’s nomination to be his next secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said that since 2000, China has had a long-t
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship.Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every d
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.”Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory.Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appea
Jannik Sinner on Sunday completed his sensational year by leading Italy to a successful defense of the Davis Cup with victory over the Netherlands.The world No. 1 eased to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 triumph against Tallon Griekspoor for the winning point after Matteo Berrettini had put the defending champions
Emma McKeon, Australia’s most-decorated Olympian, yesterday announced her retirement from competitive swimming.McKeon holds the Australian record of 14 Olympic medals — six of them gold — won over three Summer Olympics, while her seven-medal haul at Tokyo in 2021 is the most ever by a female swimmer
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: An estimated 80% of all homicide victims last year were male, but almost 60% of female victims were killed by a partner or family member The deadliest place for women is at home, and 140 women and girls on average were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year, two UN agencies reported yesterday.Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of approximately 51,100 women and girls
DEC. 8: In a surprising turn, independent candidate Calin Georgescu led with 23% of the vote, beating by a slim margin incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu Romania’s political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election, electoral data showed yesterday, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime minister.Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, is to face off agai
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena.Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she
Big changes are afoot in global politics, which that are having a big impact on the global order, look set to continue and have the potential to completely reshape it. In my previous column we examined the three macro megatrends impacting the entire planet: Technology, demographics and climate.Below
K-pop fan Kim Na-yeon used to buy stacks of the same album when there was a new release, hoping to find one of the rare selfies of her favorite stars tucked between the plastic covers.Over the years, her burgeoning CD collection expanded to every inch of her shelves, prompting her to question its im
Last month historian Stephen Wertheim of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published an opinion piece in the New York Times with suggestions for an “America First” foreign policy for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Of course China and Taiwan received a mention. “Under p
對話 Dialogue清清：華華，後天就是感恩節了，我的美國朋友請我去他家吃感恩節大餐，我想請你跟我去。Qīngqing: Huáhua, hòutiān jiùshì Gǎnēn jié le, wǒde Měiguó péngyǒu qǐng wǒ qù tā jiā chī Gǎnēn jié dàcān, wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ gēn wǒ qù.華華：好啊！我還沒參加過跟感恩節有關的活動，正好跟你去開開眼界。Huáhua: Hǎo a! Wǒ hái méi cānjiāguò gēn Gǎnēn jié yǒuguān de huódòng, zhènghǎo gēn
Social Distancing 的“social” 是指什麼？各國政府為了控制疫情，都提出寬嚴不一的social distancing 措施，所謂 social distancing，就是透過非藥物的感染控制手段 (nonpharmaceutical interventions) 隔離人群，避免、減少人際接觸，以減少感染機會，讓死亡率降到最低 (minimize disease transmission and mortality)。Social distancing 最適用於會透過飛沫傳染 (droplet contact)、直接／間接接觸傳染 (direct/indirect phys
Wisdom teeth are another example of vestigial organs. Why do humans have wisdom teeth? One theory suggests that they were originally intended to help support muscles and tissues in the human face. Another theory indicates that they were initially meant to aid our ancestors in chewing certain tough f
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% | |
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