The creator of A-Kuei (阿貴) -- a Taiwanese e-cartoon character -- attended an award presentation ceremony Wednesday in Tokyo held to honor the 29 "Asian Heroes" selected by Time Asia magazine for this year.
Chang Jung-kuei (張榮貴), whose A-Kuei has a carefree personality and experiences off-beat adventures which have won the character a large fan following in Taiwan, Japan and China, received the Time award for his creation.
PHOTO: CNA
The latest issue of Time Asia magazine, which goes on sale Monday, salutes 29 Asian heroes for this year, among whom are Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), wife of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Wu did not attend the ceremony.
At a press conference held in Tokyo, Chang expressed his appreciation for Time choosing A-Kuei. Chang said that A-Kuei has given him the opportunity to visit Tokyo, which he said he has wanted to do for a long time.
"I most want to go to Disneyland!" he said.
The action cartoon A-Kuei, who Chang says is a representative of Taiwanese culture and traits, began airing on Fuji TV more than two years ago. The program can also be seen via WAP handsets or Internet Web sites.
The other seven Asian heroes for this year included South Korean philanthropist Kim Sang-hun, who has helped save North Korean refugees, and Satoshi Fukushima, the first deaf and blind professor at Tokyo University, who has helped break down prejudices and misperceptions of physically-challenged people and helped found the Japan Deaf-Blind Association.
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