SOCIETY
‘Thriller’ in Changhua
A rice farmer is trying an off-the-wall way to get hungry birds to beat it at harvest time: scarecrows dressed like “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. One scarecrow wears white sequined gloves, a black fedora hat and black brogues, while the other is decked out in a red Thriller jacket and trousers. They are set in the fields in different poses copied from the singer’s signature dance moves. They are the idea of a 30-year old salesman and Jackson fan surnamed Lee (李), who is now making a third one for his father’s farm in Changhua County. “During harvest, my dad would go to the fields every day and chase the birds away,” Lee said. “And I thought, since Michael is good at ‘grabbing his bird,’ I’m inviting him to grab ours.” But not everyone in the family thinks the scarecrow idea is a thriller. “I was yelled at by my grandfather, who said Jackson’s spirit could come and haunt us,” Lee said. “But I think it would be nice if Michael could come over.”
EDUCATION
School eyes military dorms
A private university in Taipei is planning to lease and renovate 20 former US military dormitories on Yangmingshan as part of preparations to accommodate students from China. Chinese Culture University president Wu Wann-yih (吳萬益) said the school planned to rent the buildings from the state-run Bank of Taiwan at a cost of NT$50,000 per building per month. Each of the dormitories will be able to house about 20 students after renovation, Wu said, adding that Chinese students would be required to pay the same housing fee — about NT$2,500 per month — as their Taiwanese counterparts. The military dormitories, which were built during the Korean War in the 1950s, have been vacant for years. Local historical preservation groups have urged the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs to preserve them.
SOCIETY
Designer Wu returns home
A Taiwan-born fashion designer who rose to global fame last year after US first lady Michelle Obama wore one of his designs to her husband’s inaugural ball returned to Taipei early yesterday. “I’m very excited [to return home],” said Jason Wu (吳季剛), speaking to reporters upon his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Though Wu returned mainly to attend his brother’s wedding, the designer said he would also meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the media to share his experiences as a designer. The one-shouldered gown he designed for Michelle Obama has already become a museum piece. It was donated to the National Museum of American History, joining the museum’s collection of 24 other gowns worn by US first ladies.
POLITICS
Koo calls for Chen’s release
Former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) yesterday said he wanted to see President Ma serve 1,200 days in jail, saying Ma was responsible for former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) continued detention. “Chen’s case is not a legal issue, it is a political issue,” he said, together with other pro-independence advocates and members of Chen’s legal team at a press conference in Taipei. With Chen’s detention nearing its second year, calls for his release have been mounting among supporters. On Saturday, up to 30 pro-independence groups are expected to converge at the Taipei Detention Center to celebrate Chen’s 60th birthday. The groups are expected to continue lobbying for the lifting of Chen’s detention when his current term comes up for review on Oct. 18.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
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