CULTURE
‘Hakka boss’ dies aged 89
Chen Yun-tung (陳運棟), a pioneering authority on Hakka culture and history in Taiwan, has died at the age of 89, the Hakka Affairs Council said on Thursday. Born in Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) on Aug. 23, 1933, he was only 21 days short of reaching 90. Chen’s lifelong dedication to the study and preservation of Hakka culture and history had a palpable impact, Hakka Affairs Council Minister Yiong Con-ziin (楊長鎮) said. Chen also played a role in cultivating talent to expand the horizon of Hakka culture, Yiong added. Chen’s contribution to Hakka culture also resulted in him being given the honorary nickname “Hakka boss.” He published more than 40 books and wrote more than over 160 papers on Hakka culture, the council said. The publication of Chen’s Hakka People (客家人) in 1978 and Taiwan’s Hakka People (台灣的客家人) in 1989 had such an impact that he was thereafter considered an important pioneer in the field of Hakka research. He also shared his research and insights as the host of a Hakka cultural program on Taiwan Television. By profession, he was a teacher who taught at elementary and high schools.
ENTERTAINMENT
NTCH hosts jazz exhibition
A free jazz-themed exhibition, built around classic albums that have been categorized into five distinct moods, is on show at National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) in Taipei until Oct. 1. At the exhibition titled “The Healing Chamber of Jazz: Sunlit Beginning,” attendees are prompted to take a psychological test, displayed on a wall, which seeks to analyze their mood as they enter the NTCH Performing Arts Library. Based on the analysis, they are then guided to one of five sections that feature the classic jazz albums that match their mood. The five sections reflect delight, romance, inspiration, rebellion and solitude, and contain titles by jazz legends such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Bill Evans and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. NTCH has also planned two guided listening sessions at the library hosted by jazz saxophonist Lucy Lin (林映辰) and US jazz singer Aubrey Johnson, who is among those performing in the NTCH’s Summer Jazz Project: Jazz Love Songs concert on Aug. 26. The listening session hosted by Johnson is to be held on Aug. 21, from 7pm to 8:30pm, while Lin’s session is scheduled for Sept. 3 from 2pm to 3:30pm.
SOCIETY
Canadian returns rock
A Canadian man has returned a rock he took from Penghu County during a 2007 trip to Taiwan, the Penghu County government said. The county’s agriculture and fisheries bureau said in a statement on Friday that it had received a package from Canada on July 14 that contained a rock and a letter from a Canadian citizen whose cursive signature on an accompanying handwritten letter identified him as “Mr Redhead.” The Canadian said the enclosed rock was removed from Penghu during a visit to Taiwan 16 years ago. He said he wanted to return the rock to its rightful home, because he thought the arrowhead-shaped stone might be of cultural significance to Penghu locals. The Canadian then apologized to the people of the county and the forefathers of the area, as well as to the natural habitat. He signed off his letter with the words “in reconciliation.” The stone is a basalt rock and is approximately 7cm in size. The bureau said there is an investigation into whether it is a relic. The regulations on preserving and conserving nature in Penghu were previously not as stringent as they are now, the bureau added.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
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