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.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS