CULTURE
Local architecture honored
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, was among six architectural works in Taiwan selected for this year’s International Architecture Awards, organized by the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. The awards, which are in their 15th edition, honored 130 buildings and urban planning projects from 38 countries. Completed in 2108, Weiwuying was designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben and her firm Mecanoo, who was inspired by the many banyan trees in the area to create the center, which holds four performance halls under its roof and a large outdoor amphitheater. Other buildings in Taiwan recognized this year include Siafu Activity Center in New Taipei City, by IMO Architecture & Design, which was completed in 2017 and features a temple-style curved roof and hundreds of colorful columns; the JCA Living Lab in Taipei, a nearly century-old house built during the Japanese colonial period, which was renovated by JC architecture. Chain10 Architecture & Interior Design Institute won for three projects, two in Kaoshiung and one in Taitung: a private home built near the Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店水庫), the Green Isle restaurant in Kaohsiung, completed last year, and the Gasea cliff house, which was completed in 2017.
TRAVEL
Warning over pork imports
The Central Emergency Operation Center for African Swine Fever said that it would begin screening the luggage of all arrivals from Germany, after the country reported its first case of the disease on Thursday. Anyone found to have brought products containing pork into Taiwan from Germany would be fined, the center said. First-time offenders will be fined NT$200,000 (US$6,778), with the penalty increasing to NT$1 million for repeat offenses, it said. If foreign nationals are unable to pay the fine, they would be denied entry to Taiwan, it added. The German case indicates that the disease is spreading in Europe, the center said, reminding people not to bring pork products into Taiwan or have them shipped here.
AGRICULTURE
Garlic vendors investigated
Two garlic vendors in Yunlin County are being investigated for alleged price gauging and hoarding, officials said on Saturday. About 136 tonnes of garlic were found in a warehouse when the Investigation Bureau’s Yunlin County Field Office and the county’s Agriculture Department conducted a check of the vendors’ operations on Friday, investigators said. One of the vendors, surnamed Lin (林), said 53 tonnes were stored to supply contract farmers, while the rest was intended for general sales, the field office said. The average wholesale price of garlic posted by Siluo Agricultural Marketing Corp in Yunlin rose from NT$161.2 per kilogram on Jan. 1 to NT$396.7 per kilogram on Friday. A local farmers’ association official said the sharp rise has been caused by interruptions in imports.
TECHNOLOGY
NASA registration open
Registration for the ninth annual NASA Space Apps Challenge Hackathon, to be held in Taipei, is open through Friday, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said. It will be the fourth such event held in Taipei, although this year’s event would be held virtually. The Taipei leg from Oct. 2 to 4 is co-hosted by the National Space Organization, the Taipei City Government, National Taiwan University, Jothon Online and the American Innovation Center, the AIT said on Thursday.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
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