Spring has arrived, and the mosque has had a makeover. Sharp-eyed people may have noticed that the domes on the prayer hall of Taipei’s Grand Mosque have quietly changed from green to gold. A spokesperson for the mosque explained that the prayer hall domes were originally covered with copper, which turned green after more than a decade of corrosion, but before the Lunar New Year they were repainted and became golden domes once more.
A city resident surnamed Huang said that although she passes the mosque every day when she picks her child up from school, she has never raised her head to take a close look at the changing street scenery. When asked about the change in the mosque domes’ color, she said with a laugh that it was a good thing, because a change in the cityscape meant a change of mood. Another resident surnamed Chen said that she goes to the nearby Daan Park at least twice a week for exercise, but had not noticed the mosque’s color change, and did not even know that the mosque domes used to be green.
Taipei’s Grand Mosque has a long history. During the 1950s, Taiwan was actively cultivating its diplomatic relations with Arab and Islamic countries, so, to accommodate the needs of visiting officials from Arab lands, then-president of the Chinese Muslim Association Pai Chung-hsi and foreign affairs minister George Yeh proposed building a large mosque in Islamic style. Finally Taiwan, Iran, and Jordan jointly raised funds and in 1958 appointed architect Yang Cho-cheng to design and build the mosque, which was completed in 1960, so that it has been standing in Taipei for more than 50 years.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者朱沛雄
春天來了，清真寺也換新裝！眼尖民眾發現，台北清真寺的大殿圓頂，由綠色悄悄換成金色的「光明頂」。對此，台北清真寺解釋，大殿圓頂最早是以金屬銅打造，歷經十餘年的鏽蝕才變成綠色，年前進行塗漆作業將「金頂」還原。
黃姓市民說，每天接小孩放學都會經過清真寺，但從未抬頭仔細看街景變化，問及寺頂「變色」，笑說那樣也很好，改變市容也換心情。陳姓市民則說，每週至少兩天在附近的大安森林公園運動，對清真寺變色真的無感，甚至不知道寺頂原本是什麼顏色。
台北清真寺歷史悠久，一九五○年代末，我國積極拓展與阿拉伯伊斯蘭國家邦交，為因應阿拉伯國家官員來訪，當時中國回教協會理事長白崇禧與我國外交部長葉公超，提議興建具有伊斯蘭教色彩的大型清真寺，最後我國與伊朗、約旦和沙烏地阿拉伯共同籌募，委託建築師楊卓成於一九五八年設計興建、一九六○年竣工，坐落台北已五十餘年。
（自由時報記者何世昌、蕭婷方）
A: It’s a pity that I can’t go to Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue’s concert. B: Why not? A: Hit Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu is staging two shows at the Taipei Arena this weekend, and I already bought tickets long ago. B: Wow, isn’t he one of the most popular Japanese singers in recent years? A: And Yonezu’s megahit “Lemon” topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100’s year-end chart in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. A: 我不能去澳洲歌后凱莉米諾的演唱會真可惜。 B: 為什麼？ A: 日本人氣歌手米津玄師週末將在小巨蛋熱唱兩場，我早早就買票啦。 B: 哇他可是日本近年來最紅的歌手之一。 A: 米津的神曲《Lemon》甚至還在2018、2019年連續稱霸告示牌日本單曲榜年度冠軍！ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
The Lemon Festival is a fun annual celebration in Menton, France. This festival began in 1934 and honors the region’s exceptional lemons. __1__ in February during the lemon season, the festival features beautiful floats and sculptures covered with dazzling lemons and oranges. These citrus creations are on display in the bright sunshine throughout the day, while at night, they are lit up and turn the town into a __2__ spectacle. The festival’s origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when Menton was a major lemon producer. __3__, hotels would decorate their spaces with lemons and oranges
中國海關總署突然發布通知，指台灣輸入的釋迦及蓮霧檢出介殼蟲「大洋臀紋粉蚧」，決定暫停輸入。 In September 2021, China’s customs administration announced that it would suspend imports of sweetsop and jambu from Taiwan, citing discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. 蓮霧 (jambu/champoo, Syzygium samarangense) ，又名洋蒲桃，是桃金孃科熱帶水果，原產於印尼和馬來西亞，在星、馬稱作水蓊，中、港、澳稱作天桃。 蓮霧學名中的種小名 samarangense，係因模式標本採自印尼的Semarang (三寶瓏) 而得名。 蓮霧馬來語稱為 jambu air，第二個字 air讀作 /?a??(r)/，是水的意思，荷蘭人從印尼引進台灣，台語音譯為蓮霧 ian-b?。 以往蓮霧常見譯為 wax apple，聽起來好像素描靜物用的蠟製水果 (Wax Fruit)，曾有人問美國朋友要不要吃蓮霧? Care for a wax apple? 對方回一句：Why not a real one? 近來美國市場流行泰語的講法 champoo。蓮霧果實長得像鈴鐺，因此又稱為 bell-fruit。 Syzygium samarangense is a tropical fruit in the family Myrtaceae, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Common names in English include champoo, jambu, bell fruit, rose apple, Java apple, and wax apple. In Taiwan, the dark red cultivars are nicknamed “Black
There were 127,350 measles cases reported in Europe and Central Asia last year, double the number of cases reported the previous year and the highest number since 1997, an analysis by the WHO and UNICEF showed. Measles outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico in the US are now up to more than 250 cases, and two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and was considered eliminated from the US since 2000. In the US,
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