Sun, Apr 16, 2023 page3

• Taiwan news quick take

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  SCIENCE

  Chiayi skeletons analyzed

  Archeologists have unearthed human remains belonging to the earliest known residents of Chiayi, with an analysis showing that squatting and chewing betel nuts were common among the area’s people 2,500 years ago. The Tainan Branch of the National Museum of Prehistory this week said that two out of 13 skeletons discovered during work on the Chiayi railway elevation project were 2,500 to 2,700 years old. The two skeletons fully examined so far are believed to belong to a 35-year-old man and a 20-year-old whose sex could not be determined, it said. Squatting facets were found on the tibia of the male skeleton, indicating that Chiayi’s earliest residents habitually squatted, it said. A tooth belonging to the other skeleton was stained a brownish-red color, which the museum said was thought to have been caused by chewing betel nuts.

  DIPLOMACY

  Portuguese group arrives

  A seven-member Portuguese parliamentary delegation arrived in Taiwan on Friday for a six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The delegation is expected to exchange views with government officials and lawmakers on issues such as Taiwan-Portugal relations, economic resilience and regional situations, the ministry said. The delegation is led by Paulo Rios de Oliveira of the Social Democratic Party, and is made up of politicians who are firm friends with Taiwan and have continuously pushed for the nation’s participation in the World Health Assembly each year, the ministry said.

  GOVERNMENT

  Tsai touts women’s policy

  President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday highlighted her administration’s efforts to empower women, saying that women are encouraged to participate in public affairs and run their own businesses. Women comprise 42.9 percent of legislators, the highest percentage in Asia, while more than 37 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country are managed by women, Tsai said in a recorded speech at the opening of the Zonta Asian Inter-District Meeting in Kaohsiung. That is because of Taiwan’s gender-friendly environment, which motivates women to enter public office or start their own businesses, she said. In 2021, her administration launched the Women’s Empowerment Project in collaboration with Taiwan’s democratic partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to help women enhance their vocational skills, and to provide consultations and other resources to help them start a business, she said.

  ENTERTAINMENT

  Taipei concert promoted

  Musicians taking part in a project collecting Austronesian music are to perform in Taipei today. Baobao Chen (陳玟臻), producer of the Small Island Big Song LIVE concert at the National Concert Hall, said that six core members of the project, including Taiwanese musicians Souljaljui, a Paiwan, and Putad, an Atayal, would perform. The other four musicians are Manu Desroches and Emlyn from Mauritius, Sammy from Madagascar and Richard Mogu from Papua New Guinea, Chen said. They would be joined by New Zealand-born singer-songwriter, director and dancer Olivia Foa’i, she said. Audiences would hear live music, and see dance performances and sceneries of the island nations represented projected onto the stage, while performers would share stories about the eight-year journey of the Austronesian project cofounded by Chen and Australian music producer Tim Cole, she said.
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