‘It’s a feeling’: London show explores cuteness
A gallery employee poses next to a Hello Kitty installation during a photocall of the exhibition CUTE at Somerset House in London on Wednesday. For the exhibition’s curator, Claire Catterall, the concept of cute is so vast that she struggles to define it. Photo: AFP“The exhibition unpacks what cuteness is, so it’s a very slippery scene,” she said. The CUTE exhibition is sponsored by Japanese company Sanrio Co, which globally markets merchandise of the feline-inspired character Hello Kitty, created about 50 years ago. Visitors meander under an archway adorned with the character’s likeness, walls blanketed in colorful plush toys, before shimmying under the Hello Kitty disco’s glitter ball.
Source:Taipei Times
January 27, 2024 21:45 UTC
Ministry set to pay cash rewards to medical staff
The ministry is setting aside a special budget of NT$4 billion (US$127.8 million) for monetary incentives for those working night shifts, he said. If a nurse works 21 days a month, those willing to work night and graveyard shifts would receive an additional NT$6,400 to NT$21,000 per month, the ministry said. However, it is regrettable that the government has ignored the top four demands of the association and the medical industry — that all medical personnel across all shifts should receive cash awards, to prioritize personnel at medical facilities for cash awards and for hospitals to receive the cash awards and pay them to medical personnel, the association said. It said it was concerned the policy would create more inequality in shift rotations and encourage medical personnel to work for higher-level medical facilities. The ministry separates medical facilities into four categories — medical centers, regional hospitals, local hospitals and clinics.
Source:Taipei Times
January 27, 2024 03:33 UTC
Ko urges speaker candidates to meet with TPP caucus
Ko urges speaker candidates to meet with TPP caucusStaff writer, with CNATaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday urged nominees for legislative speaker and deputy speaker to brief his party’s eight legislators-at-large-elect on their stance on the legislative reform proposals the TPP made earlier this month. The TPP is hoping that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nominees would visit the TPP’s legislative caucus office and share their views on the proposals, Ko said after meeting with the party caucus at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. TPP lawmakers on Jan. 15 made four proposals that they said were aimed at legislative transparency and oversight, and asked the two major parties’ legislative speaker candidates to endorse them. Ko yesterday acknowledged criticism that the speaker cannot push reforms on their own through the legislature, but he said the speaker candidates should at least make their stances on the issues clear in front of the TPP caucus. CAUTIONKMT Secretary-General Justin Huang (黃健庭) said the KMT caucus would need to assess the situation before it decides whether to answer Ko’s call, having heard that the TPP caucus is mulling different strategies for the speakership election.
Source:Taipei Times
January 26, 2024 17:14 UTC
Spring movement
TSMC still eyeing 1nm fab venues following reportIN THE MARKET: Although the chipmaker applied for 100 hectares in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, it did not specifiy that Chiayi was the location in question Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said yesterday it was still considering venue options for its new advanced wafer fab, contrary to a local media report earlier in the day that the chipmaker was planning to build a 1-nanometer wafer plant in Chiayi County. While the world’s largest contract chipmaker did not directly comment on the matter of Chiayi as a potential location, TSMC said in a statement that the company would need to consider all factors before making a final decision on where to build the 1-nanometer fab. The Chinese-language Economic Daily News cited unnamed sources as saying that TSMC had
Source:Taipei Times
January 26, 2024 17:11 UTC
India’s story of tech innovation
Projected by the World Economic Forum to reach a US$10 trillion economy by the end of this decade, India’s journey is characterized by steady growth, technological innovation and resilience. In the landscape of global economic uncertainties, India’s economy stands out as a beacon of resilience and growth. India’s digital payment methods are not just reshaping its financial landscape, but are also setting a global standard. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) recent achievements further underline our commitment to technological innovation. India’s economic growth story, powered by technological advancements, is not only a narrative of domestic growth progress, but also a clarion call for global collaboration.
Source:Taipei Times
January 25, 2024 21:48 UTC
TPP proposes panel to oversee extended service
TPP proposes panel to oversee extended serviceUSEFUL TRAINING: The aim of the new panel would be to help ensure that recruits receive useful, applicable training that could help in wartime, Vivian Huang saidBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is to propose the establishment of a legislative panel to evaluate the effectiveness of the one-year extended military service once the new legislative session convenes on Thursday next week, TPP legislator-at-large-elect Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said yesterday. New conscripts began their compulsory service yesterday, making them the first batch to serve after the program was re-extended to one year. New conscripts line up for a physical exam at Chenggong Ling military training camp in Taichung yesterday. The panel would be composed of members from different parties and would report directly to the committee, Huang added. The Ministry of Education proposed the policy to balance education with compulsory military service, asking schools to relax regulations on maximum credits per semester and cross-university elective courses to allow students to finish their bachelor’s degrees and compulsory service in time.
Source:Taipei Times
January 25, 2024 21:44 UTC
ProLogium touts new EV battery plant in Taoyuan
Photo: CNA“This is the world’s first [solid-state lithium battery] mass-production line, mainly targeting electric cars. There are also plans for the Taoyuan plant to produce solid-state batteries for electric aircraft, other vessels, drones, robots and devices used in the aerospace industry, Yang said. The company aims to become the world’s biggest solid-state lithium battery supplier between 2030 and 2032, when its French factory reaches full capacity, he said. By that time, ProLogium would have a 35 to 40 percent share of the world’s solid-state lithium battery market, if the penetration of solid-state lithium batteries makes up 7 percent of the global battery market, he said. ProLogium expects the manufacturing costs of solid-state lithium batteries to drop to match the costs of ternary lithium batteries — about US$100 per kilowatt-hour — in 2032, Yang said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 24, 2024 15:42 UTC
Female representation significant
Female representation significantBy Lee Young-ImThere has been a lot of international news commentary about Taiwan’s presidential election and its implications for cross-strait relations and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. However, less has been discussed about the significance of the legislative election for women’s inclusion and representation in Taiwan. Interestingly, the difference in success rates between female and male candidates was not statistically significant, suggesting that women were just as likely to win as their male counterparts. Male and female candidates from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had a similar success rate of 52 percent. Taiwan’s legislative election marks a continuously significant stride toward women’s representation and inclusion in the legislature.
Source:Taipei Times
January 24, 2024 03:40 UTC
Perec sought to change views on French West Indians
Perec sought to change views on French West IndiansAFP, PARISFrance’s three-time Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec said her motivation to succeed on the track was so she could speak up for other French West Indians — but she needed to win “otherwise what you say goes unheard.”The Guadeloupe-born track legend, now 55, said that she would have loved to perform in front of a home audience such as the upcoming Paris Olympics. France’s Marie-Jose Perec, right, crosses the finish line in the women’s 200m final during the Atlanta Olympic Games on Aug. 1, 1996. She was determined to show the mainland French that their perception of West Indians was wrong. I wanted to change how we were perceived.”Perec said that at the time her fellow West Indians preferred to remain silent about their treatment in France. Perec had been inspired at the Atlanta Games by the man whose bouts she had listened to on the radio — a clearly diminished Ali lit the Olympic cauldron.
Source:Taipei Times
January 24, 2024 03:30 UTC
Gender reassignment surgery battle goes on, Wu says
Gender reassignment surgery battle goes on, Wu saysStaff writer, with CNADespite a crushing election defeat, Abbygail Wu (吳伊婷), Taiwan’s first transgender legislative candidate, has vowed to continue fighting to eliminate the burden of undergoing gender reassignment surgery placed on those wanting to legally change their gender. “I want them to know that they are not alone and that they have rights and are supported.”The 37-year-old transitioned in 2012 after undergoing gender reassignment surgery in Thailand. Wu said that if elected, she would continue working toward abolishing Taiwan’s surgery requirement for legally changing one’s gender. To change gender identity on a national identification card, applicants need to submit a diagnosis certificate evaluated by two psychiatrists and a certificate from a qualified medical institution confirming that gender reassignment surgery has been completed. In addition to the financial burden, there is a need for thorough psychological preparation before undergoing such surgery, Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 23, 2024 18:40 UTC
Strait crisis likely this year, experts say in poll
Strait crisis likely this year, experts say in pollNOT READY: Although China has the capability to set up a blockade around Taiwan, it could not mount an effective invasion, the majority of experts saidBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterA Taiwan Strait crisis is likely to occur this year, US and Taiwan experts say, according to a report published on Monday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. More than half of the experts said they believed a crisis in the Taiwan Strait is “very likely” or “likely” this year, at 67 percent of US experts and 57 percent of Taiwanese experts respectively, the report showed. About half of the Taiwanese experts, 49 percent, considered “highly coercive nonmilitary actions” to be the most likely action Beijing takes in such a situation. The experts said that international partners are more likely to intervene if China launched an invasion, compared with a blockade, in the next five years. Ninety-six percent of the US experts were “moderately” to “completely” confident that the US would intervene in the event of an invasion, while 72 percent of Taiwanese experts agreed.
Source:Taipei Times
January 23, 2024 18:40 UTC
Taiwan’s celebrated democracy
It is unsavory that Beijing has been trying to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic allies through coercion and inducement, with Nauru being the latest example. Taiwan’s soft power, its governance model and civic culture are endearing the nation to the outside world as never before. Taiwan’s development assistance to other countries who are not even its diplomatic allies and without strings attached speaks to its humanitarian commitment. Trump also signed the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, passed by the US Congress in 2020. This legislation envisages US support for Taiwan’s diplomatic alliances around the world and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations such as the WHA.
Source:Taipei Times
January 22, 2024 21:40 UTC
US lawmakers to meet Lai in Taiwan: reports
US lawmakers to meet Lai in Taiwan: reportsNETWORKING: The US delegation plans to meet with senior members of the KMT and TPP, which an analyst called ‘essential’ to build support for security policiesBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterUS lawmakers are planning to visit Taiwan to show support for president-elect William Lai (賴清德), as well as potentially meet with members of opposition parties, the Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday. The Financial Times on Friday reported that US representatives Ami Bera, Andy Barr and Mario Diaz-Balart are to visit Taiwan in the coming weeks. “This could lead to a deadlock, as the DPP is unlikely to cooperate with the KMT,” it said. In the Jan. 13 legislative elections, the DPP secured 51 of the 113 seats in legislature, the KMT 52 and the TPP eight. To advance security policies such as increasing defense spending and weapons purchases, the support of both parties “is essential,” she said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 22, 2024 21:36 UTC
‘Distrust’ source of TPP youth support, experts say
‘Distrust’ source of TPP youth support, experts sayStaff Writer, with CNAThe 3.69 million votes garnered by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in Jan. 13’s presidential election reflected the “distrust” felt by many young people toward the country’s two major parties, a Malaysian analyst said. Tan Seng Keat (陳承傑), research manager at the Malaysia-based Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, said a key takeaway from the outcome of the presidential election was how many young voters supported Ko. Photo: EPA-EFEOn the other hand, the loss of youth support should raise the alarm for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), added Tan, who visited Taiwan for the presidential and legislative elections. Ko received 3.69 million votes, 26.46 percent of the total, leaving him in third behind Vice President William Lai (賴清德) of the ruling DPP and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the KMT. Lai received 5.58 million votes in the presidential election, leaving him well short of the 8.17 million received by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) four years ago.
Source:Taipei Times
January 21, 2024 17:10 UTC
TPP says its membership has increased by 7,661
TPP says its membership has increased by 7,661By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Saturday evening said the party gained 7,661 new members in the week after the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13. If you want to go far, go together,” alongisde the announcement, saying that the the total number of party members has risen to 32,484 people. With the TPP attracting many young supporters, local media have reported that some parents are worried about their children attending TPP campaign events, complaining that their children are coming under the influence of the party. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei TimesThe TPP has also released data on the age profile of its new members. Meanwhile, TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday held a meet-and-greet event in Taipei to show gratitude to his supporters.
Source:Taipei Times
January 21, 2024 17:10 UTC