Sat, Oct 05, 2024
China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will.The object of Beijing’s expansionist activiti
The Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday said it is cracking down on “zombie vapes,” with a three-month drug sweep seizing products with a street value of NT$260 million (US$8.13) amid a push for the government to impose more severe punishments for drug-impaired driving.From July to last month, t
ASIAN NATO: Shigeru Ishiba, who backs creating a regional military alliance, said that that the security environment is ‘the most severe since the end of World War II’ Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday warned in his first policy speech that “today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia,” while also dubbing the nation’s low birthrate a “quiet emergency.”“Many fear that today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia. Why did deterrence not work in Ukr
The Philippines yesterday denounced China’s alleged assault of Vietnamese fishers in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are also locked in violent confrontations that have led to fears of armed conflict.Vietnam has accused “Chinese law enforcement forces” of beating the 10 fishers with ir
Iran’s supreme leader yesterday vowed in a rare address that his allies around the region would keep fighting Israel, as he defended his nation’s missile strike on its archfoe.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s address in Tehran was the first since Iran launched its second-ever attack on Israel, and also the
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday.Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to eva
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon.A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan In
REVISIONS: KMT and TPP lawmakers say the Cabinet must submit a budget that includes compensation for the amended logging ban act and other legislative resolutions The legislative review of the central government budget for fiscal year 2025 remained stalled yesterday, with opposition lawmakers demanding that the Cabinet revise its spending plan before permitting discussions to proceed.During the legislature’s full session, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Pa
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday issued an apology after complaints that he did not cancel work and classes yesterday amid continued flooding in the city, despite calling two days off earlier in the week, including on Wednesday, which saw minimal rain
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week.To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, inc
SOWING SEEDS: China is trying to capitalize on the trend of young people dreaming of becoming influencers and training them to be pro-China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is training social media influencers to promote “united front” work against Taiwan, a government source said on Monday.The CCP has started offering free influencer training classes in Fujian Province’s Pingtan, which would teach young Taiwanese how to livestream on
MORE CANCELLATIONS: Mountainous areas are still dangerous due to saturated soil, officials said, while some places in New Taipei City had work canceled today Typhoon Krathon as of yesterday had killed two people and injured 667, while one person was still missing, the Central Emergency Operations Center told a news conference, warning people to avoid outdoor activities in mountainous areas even though sea and land warnings have been lifted.Work and class
PUBLIC REPORTING: Public figures and celebrities wanting to stop unauthorized use of their name can use the app to file a report, the digital ministry said The Ministry of Digital Affairs yesterday rolled out test versions of a mobile anti-fraud app that enables users to check if an advertisement had been reported to the authorities as suspicious.The Online Fraud Reporting Inquiry app (網詐通報查詢網) — available for download on iOS and Android — also allows
A plan to promote “deep energy saving” and set up an open platform to encourage dialogue on energy policies would be the focus of the second meeting of the National Climate Change Strategy Committee at the end of this month, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) told an onl
Hospitals would be subsidized for increased costs when electricity rates are hiked on Oct. 16, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said on Wednesday.Electricity costs are set to rise by an average of 12.5 percent for industrial users and the medical community has been asking about subsidies to
Women should be wary of taking medical drugs during pregnancy, but refraining from all medicine is not necessary, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.Medicine use should be carefully managed during pregnancy, as many substances can breach the placenta barrier, affecting fetal health, Medical
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing.As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest cont
NEGOTIATIONS: The deal between the union and the US Maritime Association spares the White House a lose-lose fight in the final weeks before the election US dockworkers agreed to end a three-day strike that had paralyzed trade on the US east and Gulf coasts and threatened to become a factor in the presidential election.The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Association extended their previous contract through Jan. 15,
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves last month slipped by US$1.13 billion to US$577.93 billion, as the central bank intervened a few times to shore up the local currency, the top monetary policymaker said yesterday.Although the US dollar weakened 1.3 percent against other major currencies, the centra
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of tr
On Tuesday, in Taipei’s Ximending shopping area, a group of Taiwanese and Hong Kongers were standing on a street corner holding a protest against China’s National Day celebration. They had banners and flags with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times.” Two Chinese tourists provoked
Workers, teachers and students in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan on Wednesday got a typhoon day for a typhoon that was, well, not very typhoonish.It appears that residents in the region earned an extra day off for no good reason at all. Unfortunately, as we all know, there is no such t
TOWERING: Porto came from behind to lead 3-2 with just minutes to go before Maguire leapt from a corner to save United from another loss Manchester United narrowly avoided another embarrassing defeat as substitute Harry Maguire headed in an injury-time equalizer to salvage a 3-3 draw against Porto in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday after Erik ten Hag’s team had given up an early 2-0 lead and seen Bruno Fernandes sent off for a sec
World soccer’s governing body FIFA on Thursday gave no verdict either way on a Palestinian request to suspend Israel, but instead launched an investigation into allegations of discrimination.At FIFA’s congress in Bangkok in May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) called for its Israeli count
Lionel Messi’s first US Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup playoff match with Inter Miami would be held on Oct. 25 and aired live on a massive screen spanning an entire block of New Yor City’s Times Square.MLS announced on Thursday that Inter Miami’s opener would be the lone playoff match played on that
Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off All-Star closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Thursday night to win their Major League Baseball National League (NL) Wild Card Series.With their latest thrilling comeback in the decisive Game
‘MASSACRE’: The attack in Pont-Sonde was blamed on the Gran Grif gang, which experts have described as one of Haiti’s cruelest under the leadership of Luckson Elan Gang members early on Thursday attacked a small town in central Haiti, killing more than 20 people, including children, a human rights group said.Another 50 people were injured as the Gran Grif gang burned homes and vehicles in the town of Pont-Sonde, said Bertide Harace, spokeswoman for the Commiss
Melania Trump has voiced strong support for abortion rights in her upcoming memoir, taking a stance that sharply contrasts with her husband, former US president Donald Trump, on a divisive US election issue.US Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign on Thursday reacted quickly to the former first lad
They began a pilgrimage that thousands before them have done. They boarded long flights to their motherland, South Korea, to undertake an emotional, often frustrating, sometimes devastating search for their birth families.The adoptees are among the 200,000 sent from South Korea to Western nations as
Taiwan, once relegated to the backwaters of international news media and viewed as a subset topic of “greater China,” is now a hot topic. Words associated with Taiwan include “invasion,” “contingency” and, on the more cheerful side, “semiconductors” and “tourism.”It is worth noting that while Taiwan
The sprawling port city of Kaohsiung seldom wins plaudits for its beauty or architectural history. That said, like any other metropolis of its size, it does have a number of strange or striking buildings. This article describes a few such curiosities, all but one of which I stumbled across by accide
A new Henri Matisse retrospective in Switzerland offers visitors a rare chance to follow his artistic journey via works from throughout the career of one of modern art’s godfathers.The Fondation Beyeler museum on the outskirts of Basel has brought together 72 works by the French artist, who died in
Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park is a great example of how art can be combined with environmental conservation. __1__ on the ocean floor of the Caribbean Sea, this aquatic gallery was the brainchild of British sculptor and ecologist Jason deCaires Taylor in 2006. The park features sculptures that
A: Apart from Taiwanese-language pop diva Jody Chiang’s comeback, South Korean girl group (G)I-dle is also performing in Taiwan this weekend.B: I know. They have concerts at the Taipei Arena on Saturday and Sunday.A: Actually, to meet their fans’ high demand, they’ve added one more show on Friday
A: Taiwanese-language pop singer Jody Chiang is finally staging a comeback after having “turned off the microphone” for nine years.B: Yeah, she’s set to perform for the National Day celebration at the Taipei Dome this Saturday.A: As the best Taiwanese-language singer, it would be a big loss if s
It’s certainly been a pleasure watching the presidential campaign launch of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) lurch painfully about like a wounded pachyderm in search of an elephant graveyard. Hou’s fall to third place in some polls last week appears early, and it might still be recoverable. But grumbling in his party about replacing him has already begun. Indeed, all indications are that the party that twice gave us Lien Chan (連戰), the most despised politician in Taiwan, as a presidential candidate and later offered voters Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), is arcing along its normal descending trajectory, the North Korean missile test of electoral politics. A KIND OF POLICY PLATFORM Last week the KMT doubled down on this path with Hou’s calls for nuclear power and more death penalty executions, standard KMT fare for decades (the latter is unnecessary since so many potential criminals are likely to die in traffic accidents long before they harm anyone). Apparently KMT policy institutions are not echo chambers so much as mausoleums where dead ideas are embalmed and then periodically put on display. The lack of public policy imagination is obvious. A less obvious facet of KMT ineptitude: with years of speculation that Hou would be their man in 2024, neither Hou nor the party insisted on interesting or experimental public policies to showcase Hou’s greatness in preparation for the showdown. Of course, that is even more true of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Hou’s slide and the media buzz surrounding it are obscuring the truly urgent problem the pro-Taiwan side faces: DPP presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) has not expanded his voter support beyond the party base. In most polls he remains below 40 percent. Independent voters are staying away in droves, and for the moment the young are turning to
July 17 to July 23 When Yeh Ken-chuang (葉根壯) came of age, the traditional skills of architecture and carpentry that had been in his family for four generations were disappearing. After helping his uncle Yeh Teh-ling (葉得令) construct ships, residences and temples for more than a decade, Yeh struck out on his own at the age of 28 in 1960 as a damusi (大木司, chief carpenter), earning his lifelong title “Chief Chuang” (壯司). Around this time, builders in his homeland of Penghu were increasingly using reinforced concrete instead of wood, due to the humid climate. The period also saw a frenzy in temple construction as the economy improved, meaning there was plenty of work for Yeh. Adept in non-structural techniques such as doors, windows and furniture, as well as the intricate carvings and detailed decorations that adorned the structures, Yeh was able to adapt his skills, leading the reconstruction of the historic Hsiliao Daitian Temple (西寮代天宮) on Penghu’s main island in 1963. According to the book Crossing Traditions in Yeh Ken-chuang’s Large-scale Carpentry Skills (宮廟巧藝 :跨越傳統的葉根壯大木作技術), it was Penghu’s first temple that used a purely reinforced concrete structure. Before his life was cut short, Yeh created more than 70 temples and related structures across the various islands of Penghu and left behind more than 230 building plans. Although Yeh could have built temples and other structures on Taiwan proper, he only worked on a handful of projects outside of Penghu because he wanted to be close to his family. CLAN OF CARPENTERS The Yeh family’s woodworking tradition began with Yeh Ma-li (葉媽利), who learned the architecture and carpentry trade from an unknown master on Kinmen. The Yehs trace their roots to Kinmen, although this branch had been living in Penghu since the early 1600s. Yeh Ma-li was Penghu’s chief temple builder between 1860 and
New Taipei City | 14-23 | 10% | |
Hsinchu County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hsinchu City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Taipei City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Miaoli County | 12-22 | 10% | |
Taoyuan City | 14-22 | 10% | |
Keelung City | 15-21 | 10% |
Yunlin County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Taichung City | 14-24 | 0% | |
Nantou County | 14-24 | 0% | |
Changhua County | 14-23 | 0% |
Chiayi County | 13-24 | 0% | |
Chiayi City | 14-25 | 0% | |
Tainan City | 15-22 | 0% | |
Kaohsiung City | 17-23 | 0% | |
Pingtung County | 16-25 | 0% |
Yilan County | 14-22 | 10% | |
Hualien County | 16-22 | 10% | |
Taitung County | 17-23 | 10% |
Kinmen County | 11-18 | 0% | |
Penghu County | 17-20 | 0% | |
Lienchiang County | 10-13 | 10% |