POLITICS
Shen sweeps Yu’s steps
The release of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) legislator-at-large list on Wednesday had an unintended victim. Former DPP lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), wearing shorts and armed with a broom, yesterday turned up at singer-turned-lawmaker Yu Tian’s (余天) house. Shen had previously wagered that Yu would not be included on the safe part of the DPP’s legislator-at-large roster, which is compiled based on the share of the overall party vote. After Yu was included at No. 14 of 34 on the list — well within the range of what the DPP expects to be elected next year — Shen immediately said that he would live up to his promise to sweep Yu’s house.
IMMIGRATION
Development group to open
The New Immigrants’ Development Association is to be formally opened today in Taipei as it seeks to push for better immigrant welfare and more government resources to aid their cause, the group said in a statement released yesterday. The association said it will also push for a specialized government agency to handle issues related to immigrants, such as education, employment and care for immigrants’ children. The group added that it is time the government thought seriously about developing a set of more integrated immigration policies as, citing information previously released by the National Immigration Agency, the nation’s immigrant population will reach 1 million by the end of the year.
CULTURE
Borboa exhibition opens
An exhibition featuring 20 watercolors by Mexican expatriate artist Francisco Borboa began on Friday in Taipei, according to the Mexican Trade Services Documentation and Cultural Office in Taiwan. The month-long show of landscapes, titled “Contemplation,” is Borboa’s latest exhibition since one on religious art last year, said Martin Munoz Ledo Villegas, head of the Mexican office. The exhibition, on the 15th floor of the Taipei World Trade Center International Trade Building, focuses on four natural elements of daily life — mountains, water, cloud and fog — all of which are inspired by the scenery in Mexico, China and Taiwan, he added. Borboa, a devout Catholic, said he uses his art to express his love for God and also for Taiwan, the country in which he has lived for more than 20 years. “Life in Taiwan is very beautiful and Taiwan’s people are very lucky,” he said. “I’m very lucky to live here and I’m very happy, too.”
SPORT
Lu gets journal mention
Tennis ace Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) has been included in this year’s Wimbledon Journal, an annual publication that records important events during the two-week tournament, according to Lu’s official Web site. “Lu. Who? Lu! There did seem to be only one way to defeat Andy Roddick at the All England Club recently and that was deep into a fifth set,” it says about Lu’s stunning victory over the former top-ranked American last year. The journal is one of the traditions of the prestigious tennis tournament and covers the pivotal scenes of each day of the previous year’s competition. Lu, who beat Roddick to advance to the men’s singles quarter-finals last year, appears on several pages of the journal. In one of them, his photo is seen next to top female players including Belgian Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova of Russia. The journal also introduces Lu’s family, including his chicken-farmer father. This year, Lu did not advance past the third round of the men’s singles after losing to French player Michael Llodra on Sunday last week.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include
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