SOCIETY
Bank to hold draw
State-owned Bank of Taiwan on Monday said that it is accepting applications for a draw to pick three people who would be eligible to purchase a limited-edition commemorative coin set made by the Japan Mint for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Each set, which features 37 coins of different values and designs, would retail for NT$499,800, the bank said. The mint has produced 1,000 sets, but only 80 are destined for the global market, of which three were allocated to Taiwan, it said. Applications can be submitted through Thursday next week and the winners would be announced on the bank’s Web site on July 29, it said. Those interested can download an application form online and e-mail it to bot23306@mail.bot.com.tw, it said. The coins, made of gold, silver or an alloy, are in denominations of ￥10,000 (US$91), ￥1,000, ￥500 and ￥100, and are packaged in a walnut box bearing the Tokyo Games logo, the bank said.
DIPLOMACY
New AIT official arrives
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director-designate Sandra Oudkirk arrived in Taiwan on Monday, the US’ de facto embassy said in a statement. “After following the regulations of the Taiwan Central Epidemic Command Center’s COVID-19 Prevention Program, including going through a 14-day quarantine and seven days of self-health management, director-designate Oudkirk will be ready to report for duty,” the AIT said. “She will assume her position as AIT director upon the departure from Taiwan of AIT Director Brent Christensen.” Oudkirk arrived on a United Airlines flight shortly before 7pm and was welcomed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials including Department of North American Affairs Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典). Oudkirk speaks English, Mandarin and Turkish, and has been posted in Ireland, Turkey, Jamaica and Beijing, the AIT said last week. Oudkirk visited Taiwan in October 2019 to attend the inaugural Pacific Islands Dialogue. Taipei was also her first overseas assignment after she joined the US Foreign Service in 1991.
CULTURE
VR short film wins
A virtual reality (VR) production directed by Taiwanese Huang Hsin-chien (黃心健) yesterday beat 15 other nominees to win the VeeR Future Award for Best VR Story at Cannes XR, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency said. Huang is a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Design. The 20-minute Samsara Ep. 1 (輪迴) explores multiple social issues, including the environment, technology, natural resources and war, the university said. Huang applies the concept of “embodied cognition” to allow audiences to switch bodies and experience the world depicted in the film from different perspectives, it said. The full version of the film is to begin its global tour in September and travel to Kaohsiung for its Asia premiere in October, it said.
SEISMICITY
Two quakes hit Hualien
Two earthquakes hit Hualien County at about 7:41am yesterday, but no immediate damage or injuries were reported, the Central Weather Bureau said. The quakes were 20 seconds apart, the bureau said, adding that such a close interval was not unusual in Hualien. The first, a magnitude 3.4 temblor, was centered 5.6km south of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 5.5km, the Seismology Center said. The second, with a magnitude of 3.6, was centered 6.1km south-southwest of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 8.6km, it said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
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