■ENVIRONMENT
Spoonbill numbers up
A record 1,081 endangered black-faced spoonbills have been spotted wintering in the Tainan area, local conservation advocacy groups said yesterday. Every year from October to April, black-faced spoonbills fly south to winter in wetlands and lagoons in Tainan City and Tainan County. As part of a global annual census initiated by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, local conservation groups began counting the spoonbills on Saturday and completed the count yesterday. “As of noon on Sunday, 1,081 black-faced spoonbills had been documented, the largest number of sightings since the annual census began a few years ago,” said Lee Ming-hua (李明華), a Tainan County river ranger, who joined volunteers from the Wild Bird Society of Tainan City and the Black-Faced Spoonbill Conservation Association of Tainan County in conducting the survey. The largest group tallied was 728 spoonbills spotted at the Cigu Township (七股) black-faced spoonbill reserve.
■CULTURE
Emperor to get exhibit
The National Palace Museum confirmed yesterday that it would hold a joint exhibition with a Chinese museum on Emperor Yongzheng — the fourth ruler of the Qing Dynasty — in Taiwan in October. Director Chou Kung-shin told reporters she would make an “ice-breaking” visit to China’s Palace Museum in Beijing next month and that Zheng Xinmiao (鄭欣淼), director of the Beijing museum, would pay a visit to the Taipei museum in March. Chou said the two sides, making their first contact in 60 years, would discuss the October exhibit. She said the joint exhibit could be held in Taiwan because under the 1992 Statute on Encouraging and Rewarding Cultural and Art Enterprises, the Beijing museum’s exhibits would be protected from seizure or any legal entanglements over ownership. Taiwan’s art and cultural objects could also be displayed in China if a similar statute is passed to grant the same protection, Chou said.
■SOCIETY
Pitcher Wang awaits child
New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) yesterday confirmed rumors that he would become a father in June. Wang’s wife is expecting a boy. Asked whether his son would be allowed to play baseball when he grows up, Wang said his son could make his own decision. Wang also said that since June is in the middle of the baseball season, the baby would likely be born in the US.
■POLITICS
Tsai welcomes ‘witch hunt’
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Saturday that the government’s probe into the role of former financial officials in alleged irregularities in the country’s second wave of financial reform was a witch hunt. Tsai, who helped with the reform as vice premier between 2006 and 2007, made the comment as she emerged from a forum sponsored by Taiwan Thinktank. “If the Executive Yuan wants to engage in a political witch hunt against me, then let’s have a good fight,” she said. Tsai said the financial officials who presided over the reform followed the law. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lee Sush-der (李述德) refused to comment on whether any laws had been broken in implementing the reforms. Lee said it was up to prosecutors and the Control Yuan to probe the case. Lee and Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Sean Chen told a news conference the previous day that a probe by their staff had raised 16 questions about the reforms.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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