Renowned author and scientist Chen Chih-fan (陳之藩) died on Saturday in Hong Kong at the age of 86, with people from both the academic and literary world praising his many achievements.
Born in Hebei Province, China, on June 19, 1925, Chen trained as an electronic engineer and left Taiwan in 1955 to study in the US. He received a doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 1971.
He taught at Princeton University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Boston University and at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).
“He was one of the main people behind the establishment of CUHK’s electronics department,” former CUHK vice chancellor Ambrose King said.
Tang Ming-jer (湯銘哲), a professor at NCKU’s department of physiology, called Chen a national treasure and a rare talent who was able to seamlessly fuse technology and literature.
Tang said Chen had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in 2008.
Chen is also widely known in the Chinese-speaking world for his essays, several of which are published in school textbooks used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
“Chen’s death is a loss to the literary world,” said Chang Man-chuan (張曼娟), director of the Kwang Hwa Information and Cultural Center in Hong Kong.
Chang, a writer herself, said she had read Chen’s writings since she was a young woman.
Chen is survived by his wife.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS