TRAVEL
S Korea extends free entry
South Korea is to extend a temporary visa-free entry program for visitors from Taiwan, Japan and Macau to Oct. 31, in hopes of attracting more tourists to a series of cultural events, local media reported yesterday. Originally scheduled to run from Aug. 4 to yesterday, the program led to a 97 percent sequential increase in the number of visitors from Taiwan, Japan and other countries last month, the Korean Broadcasting System reported, citing an official statement issued by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. South Korea introduced the program ahead of this year’s Seoul Festa, which was held in the capital from Aug. 10 to 14, bringing the number of countries qualifying for visa-free entry this month to 107. The government decided to extend the measure in response to appeals from local governments and the tourism industry to boost international visitors to events scheduled for this and next month, including a BTS concert in Busan and other cultural events in Seoul, the report said.
WEATHER
Super typhoon brings rain
Parts of the nation were forecast to feel the effects of the periphery of Super Typhoon Hinnamnor from late yesterday to Saturday, but the storm is unlikely to directly impact the nation, the Central Weather Bureau said. The typhoon was expected to continue moving westward toward waters south of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands yesterday and linger there before veering northward toward Japan’s main islands and South Korea, the bureau said. However, a new tropical depression south of Hinnamnor is expected to develop into a tropical storm and move toward the typhoon, and the interaction between the two storms could cause Hinnamnor to veer south, it said. The bureau forecast that the storm would come closest to Taiwan tomorrow and on Saturday, as it lingers near the Ryukyu Islands.
CULTURE
Cloud Gate to hold free show
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre is to hold a free, open-air performance of 13 Tongues (十三聲) in front of Hsinchu City Hall on Saturday. The show, which starts at 7:30pm, is the sixth and final performance to be held as part of the city’s Summer Art Cultural Festival, Acting Hsinchu Mayor Chen Chang-hsian (陳章賢) said in a statement yesterday. 13 Tongues, which premiered in 2016, was created by Cloud Gate artistic director Cheng Tsun-lung (鄭宗龍) based on his childhood memories of the bustling street life in Taipei. Because rain from the outer bands of Typhoon Hinnamnor is forecast for Saturday, people planning to attend the event should check the Hsinchu City Cultural Affairs Bureau Web site to confirm whether the show would be held as scheduled.
ENVIRONMENT
Hair drive to clean oil spills
A non-profit group is launching a drive to collect hair trimmings and tights for use as sorbents in the event of an oil spill, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tang Hui-jane (湯蕙禎) said yesterday, urging hair salons and tights manufacturers to join the drive. Tang said studies have shown that 1kg of human hair can absorb 8kg of oil. The collection drive is being launched today, ahead of World Cleanup Day on Sept. 17, which was started by Estonians to tackle the waste problem and create a more sustainable environment, DPP Legislator Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤) said. An art exhibition is also to be held at Taipei Xin Zhong Shan Park from Sept. 29 to Oct. 10 to showcase art works made from discarded hair, she said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by