FOOD
Poll shows lack of trust
Nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese do not trust food ingredient labels and a similar percentage has low trust in the government’s management of food safety, a survey by Global Views Monthly found. The magazine found that 78.7 percent of respondents do not trust the government’s ability to manage food safety, compared with only 15.1 percent who said they trust the authorities. The survey, conducted from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, was based on 1,026 valid samples from people over the age of 20. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The results reflect several food scandals that have rocked the nation over the past year. The magazine urged the government to regain public trust by demonstrating its intent to push through tougher regulations on food safety.
SOCIETY
Yunlin sculpture unveiled
An 8m-tall steel sculpture entitled Exploration — Farmer’s Foot, was unveiled on Wednesday at the Erlun Sports Park in Yunlin County as part of the Yunlin Agriculture Exposition. Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) said the sculpture by Lu Ping-cheng (呂秉承) symbolizes the future of the county and its agricultural sector. Su said the sculpture was one of the highlights of the exposition, which opened on Dec. 25 and will run until March 6. Lu said the sculpture, which features a walking foot, represents the persistent spirit of Yunlin’s farmers in their daily lives and work. Exploration refers to efforts to explore and move forward, while the steel used to produce the work represents technology and innovation, Lu said, adding that the piled-up texture of the sculpture’s surface represents agriculture’s long history.
ORNITHOLOGY
Oriental stork eludes birders
A group of bird watchers had a good time looking for wild birds in Kinmen County on Wednesday, although they failed to find the species they most wanted to see. Led by the Wild Bird Society of Kinmen, about a dozen birders spotted several rare species, including black-faced spoonbills and black storks, near Lingshui Lake. However, they were not lucky enough to spot the oriental stork — an endangered bird that was the reason for Wednesday’s field trip. The bird, which can reach 1.29m in height and weigh up to 4.4kg, with a wingspan of 2.22m, was spotted seven weeks ago in the offshore county, prior to which it had not been sighted since 2000. It is likely that the birds were scared away by traffic and traveled to more remote wetland areas, local bird watchers said.
LITERATURE
Literary critic praised
Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) praised the contributions of renowned Chinese literary critic Hsia Chih-tsing (夏志清), who died on Sunday last week in New York at the age of 92. Hsia was a unique figure in contemporary world literature, Lung said, adding that he was familiar with Western literature and had “prophet-like” aesthetic insights into Chinese-language literature. The critic’s passion and lifelong dedication to literature will be remembered, she said. Hsia, born in Shanghai in 1921, is known for introducing modern Chinese literature to the West and was credited with helping Chinese writers such as Eileen Chang (張愛玲), Shen Congwen (沈從文) and Qian Zhongshu (錢鐘書) to gain greater recognition in the West. Hsia’s book A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, published in English in 1961, was a pioneering study of 20th-century Chinese fiction.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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