SPORTS
Golf prize rises to US$1.5m
The Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA) on Friday announced that the 2025 Foxconn TLPGA Players Championship is to tee off on Feb. 27, with total prize money of US$1.5 million, US$500,000 more than last year. Sponsored by Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group, this year’s championship is the second edition of the annual event. Organizers said that this year’s tournament would again be held at the Orient Golf and Country Club in Guishan District (龜山) from Feb. 27 to March 2. Hon Hai also increased the total purse from US$1 million to US$1.5 million, nearer to the prize money offered at tournaments on the US’ Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, which are at least US$2 million. While a finalized roster is to be published on Jan. 17, the organizers said that Taiwan’s Wu Chia-yen (吳佳晏) and Hou Yu-sang (侯羽桑) have been confirmed to participate in the event. In addition, former world No. 1-ranked South Korean professional golfer Shin Ji-yai is also to play in her first event in Taiwan in seven years.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association
TRANSPORTATION
Bureau warns of fine scam
The Highway Bureau on Friday warned of scam messages asking for payments of outstanding traffic fines. The fraudulent text messages or e-mails instruct the recipient to click on a link to pay an outstanding traffic fine before a certain deadline, the bureau said in a news release. Recipients should not click the links, as they do not originate from the bureau and are designed to defraud the recipient, it said. While the Highway Bureau sends text messages reminding people to pay outstanding fines, they are simply reminders and never include links, it said. Do not click links from unknown senders, it added. Recipients who are unsure if a text message or e-mail is legitimate should contact their local motor vehicle office to verify the messages, it said.
SOCIETY
Malay, Thai added to sites
The Ministry of Culture has launched Malay and Thai versions of its Web site to introduce Taiwan’s culture to audiences in Malaysia and Thailand, as part of the government’s New Southbound Policy, it said. The ministry said the two new Web sites provide an overview of the ministry’s core policies and achievements in cultural exchanges with Malaysia and Thailand. The sites include sections about contemporary Taiwanese artists, including masters and luminaries in their fields, as well as information about art venues, providing an overview of Taiwanese art and culture, it said. The ministry already provides versions of its Web site in English, Japanese, French, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia, which are part of its ongoing efforts to promote Taiwanese culture to global audiences since 2013, it said. The New Southbound Policy was launched in 2016 to bolster economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and ASEAN members, Australia, New Zealand and South Asian countries such as India.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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