Thu, Jun 27, 2024
President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday.Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investme
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that Yongliang Ltd (永梁) had contravened the law by using China-made photovoltaic inverters in a military complex and called for a general inspection of military bases to see if there are other similar breaches.The Legislativ
GRADUAL PROCESS: The legislature still has to ratify a deal signed with New Delhi, and no timeline has been set for when workers would begin to arrive The manufacturing industry would be the first to accept workers from India, starting with no more than 1,000 no sooner than a year from now, Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said yesterday.Ho and other labor officials appeared in front of two legislative committees, which were jointly reviewing a
North Korea yesterday test-fired what appeared to be a hypersonic missile off its east coast, but it exploded in midair, South Korea’s military said.The missile was launched from near the capital, Pyongyang, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said the missi
Kenyan protest organizers yesterday called for fresh peaceful marches against controversial tax hikes, as the death toll from nationwide demonstrations climbed to 22, a state-funded rights organization said, vowing an investigation into what it described as “the largest number of deaths [in] a singl
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence.Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday.The number of typhoons is slightly lower than
SWEET CONCERNS: New limits on chocolate were not included in the finalized rules, while the FDA prepares restrictions to be announced in the coming months The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced stricter regulations on toxic heavy metals in foods, lowering the maximum limits for lead in infant formulas and in the internal organs of livestock and poultry, while adding limits on chromium in baby food products, nuts and oil seeds, whic
Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Wednesday announced a plan to buy 5.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines targeting new variants that it will begin administering, along with flu vaccines, in October.Due to the COVID-19 virus continuing to mutate, the CDC will purchase vaccines that offe
A multinational cohort study, which included a research team in Taiwan, has found no clear link between maternal diabetes during pregnancy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, challenging previous studies, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) said yesterday.
HARD TARGET: It would be difficult to meet the government’s 10 percent reduction target by next year, said environment minister Peng Chi-ming Greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector account for more than 90 percent of Taiwan’s total emissions and are challenging the government’s net zero goals, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said yesterday.As it would be “very difficult” to achieve emissions reductions targets, the go
Red dragon fruit exports are expected to reach 338 tonnes this year, while Jinhuang mangoes could be exported to Japan next year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) said yesterday.The ministry on Monday sent a test shipment of 192kg of red dragon fruit to Japan following eight years of n
‘MALICIOUS’: The US representative said the funds were spent to replace old furniture, including beds and sofas that had been in use at the residence for more than 20 years Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) has defended his decision to use government funds to renovate his official residence, saying that doing so was for “diplomatic purposes” and not for personal benefit.He said the allegations surrounding the renovation, and personal attacks on himself and h
JOINT REQUEST: DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu said the caucus is also filing a petition with the Constitutional Court for a constitutional interpretation Today’s weekly Cabinet meeting is to discuss whether to file for a constitutional interpretation of amendments to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法) and the Criminal Code, Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin (林明昕) said yesterday.Lin made the remarks after both the Preside
The annual Han Kuang military exercises this year would be unscripted and not feature live-fire drills on Taiwan proper in a departure from previous iterations, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) told lawmakers yesterday.Mei made the remarks in a question-and-answer session on the
China’s new legal guidelines targeting advocates of Taiwanese independence, including allowing trials in absentia, are aimed at gaining jurisdiction, experts said on Monday.The guidelines, issued on Friday last week with immediate effect, allow courts in China to try “Taiwan independence separatists
DIVERSIFYING: Following customers’ demand to improve supply chain resilience, ASE is looking for sites in the US, Japan and Mexico, a company executive said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it plans to launch a new high-end chip testing fab in the US next month to better serve its key customers based in North America, particularly California-based artificial intellige
Taiwanese workers earned an average of NT$47,000 per month this year, but 40 percent are struggling financially and 18 percent plan to switch jobs within 12 months, two separate surveys showed yesterday.The amount equals a 5.4 percent increase from a year earlier to a decade high, 104 Job Bank (104人
Local companies believe that nearly a third of all job opportunities will vanish in 10 years due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey released by online job bank yes123 on Tuesday.In the survey of 1,016 companies on the labor market’s third quarter outlook, the job bank
A few days after the presidential election, Nauru switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The “coincidence” fooled nobody. It was clearly a message to Taiwanese voters, punishing them for the audacity of electing President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party. What w
Taiwan’s humanities and social sciences fields are facing several challenges, not the least of which is the dearth of bachelor’s degree applicants to National Cheng Kung University’s (NCKU) Department of History.Fifteen general studies students were accepted and 18 were put on a waiting list, univer
During his presidential election campaign, President William Lai (賴清德) revealed his ambition to create a “Healthy Taiwan,” a policy component of his “National Project of Hope” initiative, which has garnered significant public interest.Even before taking office, Lai appointed former National Cheng Ku
‘TOUGH OPPONENTS’ : Despite Chile’s strong showing, Argentina’s midfield of Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo de Paul and Nicolas Gonzalez dominated World champions Argentina on Tuesday showed their steel and killer instinct as they beat Chile 1-0 to book their place in the Copa America quarter-finals.Lautaro Martinez’s 88th-minute winner delighted the 82,000, pro-Argentina crowd at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.The result left Chile, Copa Ameri
Top of the group, unbeaten and on the favorable side of the draw for the knockout phase of the UEFA Euro 2024, so it is a case of job done for England at this stage of the tournament.However, fans jeered loudly and threw beer cups as the final whistle blew on a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Cologne Stad
US Olympic athletes have lost faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to rid their sports of cheaters ahead of next month’s Paris Olympics, two former gold medalists told a US House of Representatives subcommittee on Tuesday.The testimony by Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt followed reports t
Two Taiwanese have secured slots in the women’s golf event at the Paris Olympics following the latest world rankings issued on Tuesday.Chien Pei-yun, who is to make her first Olympic appearance, and Hsu Wei-ling, who is to play in her second Olympics, were ranked No. 88 and No. 161 respectively on M
‘VERY PLEASED’: Australian PM Anthony Albanese said he talked to Assange on the phone and ‘he was very generous in his praise of the Australian government’s efforts’ WikiLeaks frontman Julian Assange yesterday returned home to Australia to start life as a free man after admitting he revealed US defense secrets in a deal that unlocked the door to his London prison cell. Assange landed on a chilly Canberra evening in a private jet, the final act of an internationa
The first UN-backed contingent of foreign police arrived in Haiti on Tuesday, nearly two years after the troubled Caribbean country urgently requested help to quell a surge in gang violence.A few hundred police officers from Kenya landed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, whose main international airpo
Australia yesterday urged the Solomon Islands to rely on fellow Pacific nations for security assistance during a visit by China-friendly Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.Manele was visiting Australia as part of a three-nation tour that also takes him to China and Japan.It is Manele’s f
On Friday last week, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency very excitedly proclaimed “a set of judicial guidelines targeting die-hard ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists” had been issued “as a refinement and supplement to the country’s ‘Anti-Secession’ law” from 2005, with sentencing guidelines that in
An international scheme to tax the wealth of the world’s 3,000 billionaires is technically feasible and could net up to US$250 billion a year in extra revenue, a new report says.A study by the French economist Gabriel Zucman concluded that progress in finding ways to tax multinational corporations m
David is a psychologist and has been taking part in drug-fueled gay orgies for the past 15 years.“The sex is crazy — utterly unbridled — which of course is partly down to the drugs but also because you can act out all your fantasies,” said the 54-year-old, who has been in a relationship for two year
A: The 35th Golden Melody Awards ceremony will take place at the Taipei Arena on Saturday.B: Who are this year’s nominees for Best Male Singer?A: The nominees are Xu Jun, JJ Lin, Marz23, MC HotDog and Jude Chiu.B: How about the nominees for Best Female Singer?A: The nominees are Faith Yang, Shi
South Korea finds itself at a crossroads. The country is struggling with a demographic issue characterized by a rising number of unmarried individuals and an aging population. The situation has been highlighted by the actions of Eun Seo-Ran, a 43-year-old South Korean woman who recently drew societa
During a visit to Australia last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made a classic goodwill gesture that boded well for relations between the two countries: he offered to send pandas.The offer comes as ties between Australia and its largest trading partner improve after a diplomatic dispute that lead to
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% | ![]() |