Sun, May 05, 2024
Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week.“We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with
LOOK FOR THE SIGNS: The guidelines include checklists for inspectors to look for indicators of abuse or if a child might be at risk in a caregiver’s home The Ministry of Health and Welfare has rolled out revised guidelines for inspecting in-home childcare providers, including general principles, the frequency of home visits and key points for social workers to look for.The guidelines, which took effect immediately, were issued to local governments on
President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is considering creating an advanced defense technology agency soon after assuming office later this month, an official with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.The authority the agency would have and whether the National Security Council or Ministry of National D
Canadian police on Friday arrested and charged three Indian men with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year and said they were probing whether the men had ties to the Indian government.Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in June last year outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouv
More than 100 temperature records last month fell across Vietnam, official data showed, as a deadly heat wave scorches South and Southeast Asia.Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in the past few weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for c
SECURITY ACT: The US should support its ‘peaceful and democratic ally Taiwan and its military’ and send a ‘strong message’ to China, US Senator Rick Scott said US lawmakers on Thursday introduced new legislation to strengthen Taiwan-US defense cooperation to counter Beijing’s aggression.US senators Jacky Rosen and Dan Sullivan, along with US representatives Michelle Steel and Steven Horsford, introduced the bipartisan and bicameral bill, transpacific allie
Taiwanese and US representatives yesterday wrapped up the latest round of in-person trade talks in Taipei, but did not succeed in inking any agreements, Minister Without Portfolio and top negotiator John Deng (鄧振中) told a media briefing.“The two sides gained better understanding of bilateral rules a
LACKING MAJORITY: It would be hard to gain enough votes to pass a bill, but as long as the DPP has the public’s support, it can push for policies, the president-elect said President-elect William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday urged his new Cabinet to listen to public opinion and work to garner public support.As long as the DPP maintains sufficient public support, it can push for policies it wants, even without a majority in the Legislat
Twenty opposition lawmakers are to visit the Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島) on May 16, the largest group of legislators to have set foot on the island.The last time legislators visited the island was in 2016, and the delegation then consisted of five legislators, all from the Democratic Progressive P
CONTRADICTORY: The vice president-elect was not ‘allowed to transit by ground transport’ and did not leave Dresden airport, a think tank director said Vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) visit to Europe in March proceeded smoothly and included transits through Frankfurt, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Friday, after the German government reportedly restricted her travel in the country.Hsiao’s request to travel through the sou
Taiwan has imposed export controls on high-density nitrocellulose, an explosives precursor, and there is no record of Taiwanese exports of such a substance, the International Trade Administration (ITA) said on Friday.No company in Taiwan produces high-density nitrocellulose, it added.The remarks cam
COVID-19: Taiwan’s average excess mortality between 2020 and last year during the pandemic was 3.3 percent, better than the OECD average Taiwan’s average excess mortality in the past four years during the COVID-19 pandemic was 3.3 percent, much lower than many of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, a Taipei Medical University (TMU) research team said yesterday.The research team’s survey
JAPANESE ERA: Recent restoration helped uncover the building’s original motif and historical design, which called for a name more appropriate to this legacy, officials said The Kaohsiung Cultural Affairs Bureau has removed Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) name from a tourist attraction at its Sizihwan (西子灣) waterfront to better reflect the Japanese-era building’s original motif and historic value.The hall is now to be referred to as City-certified Historic Site of Sizihwan Hall
Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC), Ministry of Health and Welfare, and South Korea’s Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) on Friday signed a “Combating Digital Sex Crime Online” joint statement, the NCC said.The joint statement has three main focuses, including ensuring t
A man on Friday was sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars for hitting and killing a Singaporean pedestrian in Taipei while driving under the influence, the Taipei District Court said.The Taiwanese driver, surnamed Hsiang (向), showed remorse and made an effort to make up for the inciden
A team of Taiwanese and US scientists warned of “super termites” after a three-year study suggested that two destructive subterranean species are producing hybridized offspring in the wild.This research, which consisted of lab tests and a three-year field study in Taiwan, was published in the March
Starting next year, Patagonia Inc’s wetsuits are not just going to be recycled — they are to be reincarnated. At the company’s “Wetsuit Forge” repair and design center, a few blocks from the beach in Ventura, California, a first-of-its-kind wetsuit is draped over a table. The suit looks and feels li
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below.Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” i
HIGH-TECH: As leading-edge process technologies become more complicated, only a handful of players are able to provide design services, the company’s CEO said Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) yesterday said that revenue would grow significantly again in 2026 after adding a major AI chip customer, reversing moderation amid a product transition next year.The Taipei-based application-specific IC (ASIC) designer reiterat
The legislature’s Transportation Committee on Monday approved proposed amendments that would allow members of the public to report five types of traffic offenses, down from 13 previously.Rules on the reporting of traffic offenses have received widespread criticism from professional drivers who say t
On Thursday last week, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) officially named his picks for his national security team. Since the power to appoint the ministers of foreign affairs, national defense, cross-strait relations and other similar ministries, bureaus and departments belong to the presidency, La
On April 28, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) ran an opinion piece titled “There’s no problem child in special education classes.” As mentioned, “Many countries have anti-discrimination laws ... our country does not have this kind of law.” The meaning of this statement is not p
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals.Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1.In th
Luka Doncic had 28 points and 13 assists on Friday, while Kyrie Irving scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime as the Dallas Mavericks finished off the Los Angeles Clippers with a 114-101 victory.Doncic struggled with his shot again thanks to his ailing right knee and Irving spent a bunch of energ
Andrey Rublev on Friday beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Madrid Open final, where he faces Felix Auger-Aliassime.Auger-Aliassime advanced after Jiri Lehecka had to retire at 3-3 in the first set of their semi-final and joined the list of players injured at the event.Eighth-ranked Rublev enter
Pius Suter on Friday scored with one minute, 39 seconds left in Game 6 as the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.Nashville had a final chance to force overtime with a power play with 33.9 seconds left after Elias Lindhol
INTERNATIONAL PROBE: Australian and US authorities were helping coordinate the investigation of the case, which follows the 2015 murder of Australian surfers in Mexico Three bodies were found in Mexico’s Baja California state, the FBI said on Friday, days after two Australians and an American went missing during a surfing trip in an area hit by cartel violence.Authorities used a pulley system to hoist what appeared to be lifeless bodies covered in mud from a shaft
BRACING FOR MORE: State officials warned that four dams were at risk of collapse, while many communities have been completely cut off The death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by torrential storms in southern Brazil on Friday climbed to 39, officials said, as they warned of worse to come.As the rain kept beating down, rescuers in boats and planes searched for scores of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed
With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower, but the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), not a human pilot, and riding in the fro
May 6 to May 12Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from
Sipping champagne and nibbling fried dumplings, Shanghai’s rich and influential posed by Louis Vuitton signs at a runway afterparty — a lavish affair designed to win customers in China’s crucial market.China is the world’s biggest spender in the luxury sector, accounting for half of global sales. Bu
The swing of a talon and a flurry of feathers leaves a rooster motionless, a cockfight bout viewed as cruel by many but which binds disparate Indian forest communities together.India is renowned for its fanatical cricket obsession but in the central state of Chhattisgarh, cockfighting draws the crow
On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper’s voice echoed through the streets of New York City. This marked the birth of a new era in communication with the first-ever cellphone call. Cooper held a device the size of a brick. He called his rival, Bell Labs’ Joel Engel, to declare that his Motorola team had bui
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the dev
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc.B: That’s just outrageous!A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty.B: The buyers and sellers shoul
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% |