NT$45 million earmarked for antiques procurement was yesterday frozen temporarily from the National Palace Museum's (
The funds will remain frozen until disputes surrounding exhibits have been resolved.
The freezing of the funding for purchasing artifacts was proposed by DPP lawmaker Chen Chin-jun (
On numerous occasions in the legislature in recent months, Chen has expressed doubts over the academic ability of museum researchers and the museum's purchasing process.
On June 19, Chen questioned the authenticity of a stone palette supposedly from the Shang Dynasty and two "Neolithic period" jade ornaments, all exhibited at the museum.
While museum researchers have never responded to his queries, he said at a legislative meeting last Thursday that the quality of at least 400 items on display was questionable.
The total value of these exhibits reaches into hundreds of millions of NT dollars, he said.
During yesterday's budget-review session at the legislature, Chen suggested freezing the museum's NT$45 million antiques procurement budget for the time being, until the museum submits a complete report to clear up the controversy.
Chen's suggestion was endorsed by independent lawmaker Josephine Chu (朱惠良), PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安) and KMT lawmaker Mu Ming-chu (穆閩珠).
Responding to the proposal, deputy director of the museum Shih Shou-chien (
After the seminar, Shih said, the museum would present a detailed report to be reviewed by lawmakers.
Shih also said that in a bid to prevent such a controversy from occurring again, the museum would publicize procurement details on the its Web site.
"By making the buying procedures and contents transparent, we aim to avoid contention of this kind in the future," he said.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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