Taiwanese interpreter Clare Wang’s (王秀毓) hopes of winning a dream job as caretaker of an unmanned island off the coast of Australia took a step forward on Thursday after the No. 2 candidate was disqualified.
Tourism Queensland removed Russian candidate Julia Yalovitsyna from the top-50 shortlist because she featured in an “inappropriate video.” The judging panel was also probing claims that Yalovitsyna worked as a porn star.
With the 37-year-old now out of the picture, the gap between the Wang, who is in her 30s, and the other candidates widened further.
Since Tourism Queensland launched the campaign to find a caretaker for six months for Hamilton Island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, more than 35,000 people worldwide have applied, lured by the US$100,000 pay and the scenery.
As of yesterday, Wang had 145,339 votes from online voters, with applicants from Canada (49,146 votes), Ireland (28,388), the US (20,497) and France (15,354) trailing far behind.
In her videotape, Wang describes herself as good at breaking the communication barrier, “super curious” and adventurous. She says she likes swimming, diving, mountain climbing and bungee jumping.
That she has never been to the Great Barrier Reef is “one more reason you should vote for me!” she says in the video.
Media reports in Taiwan said it was a miracle that Wang has become so popular, suggesting her warmth, enthusiasm and fluency in English could have played a role.
Wang, from Taipei County, told local reporters that she wanted the job because it would be a special experience.
She said Tourism Queensland’s recruitment advertisement was so well made that after she watched it she was convinced that anyone could apply for it, so she went right to it and made a video to apply for the job.
Tourism Queensland will pare-down the shortlist to 11 candidates on April 2, by choosing 10 names, adding in the candidates chosen by the online vote.
It plans to interview the 11 finalists on May 3 and announce the winner on May 6 and Hamilton Island’s new caretaker is due to start work on July 1.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS