Norwegian athlete with Changhua temple ‘victory cap’ visits Taiwan again

2022-12-04

Norwegian athlete Gustav Iden rose to fame in Taiwan a few years ago, after winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2019 while wearing a cap issued by a temple in Changhua. After attracting a flurry of attention online, the athlete visited the temple, and was made honorary citizen of Changhua County. He has now made another visit to Taiwan, to explore the country, compete in a triathalon, and show the world the wonders of Taiwan. Our very own Stephany Yang has the details.

Greeting the Taiwanese media and fans warmly, this is Gustav Iden, the 2022 Ironman world champion and a two-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. In 2019, he became famous in Taiwan after winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, wearing a hat with the name of a Taiwanese temple in Changhua. Iden had found the hat in Tokyo and believed that it would bring him luck.

Gustav Iden
Norwegian triathlete
It has been an amazing few years ever since I found the hat. It has truly changed my life. It’s a special feeling when I take it on. It is also really special to see others wearing it because it makes me aware that I actually have an influence on other people. It made me realize that I have to do good, not only a good performance but also behave in a way that is respected by others. When I put on the hat I am actually really aware that I am representing not only myself and Norway, but also representing Taiwan.

Iden says he’s happy to see other people wearing the hat and that when he wears it, he not only represents Norway, but also Taiwan.

Many fans in Taiwan were excited to meet Iden. Some even biked all the way from Taipei to Changhua to get their own hat just like his.

Richard Tsai
Fan
A group of five friends. We went from Taipei and cycled all the way to Changhua to get the hat. We did it all in one day, so 230 kilometers.

Tres Stallworth
Fan
I am here to see the two world champions because I do triathlons. We all do triathlons. We really enjoy that they have come to Taiwan.

Klaus Neubeck
Fan
I was with them in Utah but because they were so fast I couldn’t get an autograph for them or take a picture with them. That’s why I came today. I have a hat from Utah where they were racing. I like this hat. I hope they can sign it.

Daniel Ray
Fan
I am just hoping that I can steal some speed from them. Maybe get some good luck and fortune and maybe get some training tips. And then, tell them how awesome Taiwan is, and I hope that they can come back to Taiwan more often and train here. Taiwan is really a perfect triathlon training country.

After his solo visit in 2019, this time, Iden brought with him another triathlon champion to Taiwan, Kristian Blummenfelt. Blummenfelt is a Norwegian triathlete and Olympic and World Champion gold medalist. During their stay, they tried local delicacies including stinky tofu and oyster omelets.

Kristian Blummenfelt
Norwegian triathlete
I think there is nothing that we have never tried. I feel like we have gone through everything. As you can see on the pictures. The highlight might be the stinky tofu because now I know I can eat anything.

Gustav Iden
Norwegian triathlete
Taiwan has become my second country. I am amazed every time I see some news from Taiwan. It’s so cool to be back here. The last time I was here, I was actually named an honorary citizen of Changhua County. It’s unbelievable how far the sport can take you. I never dreamed of this when I started my triathlon career. It was mostly because I love training. To experience the culture here in Taiwan has been unbelievable. Thank you so much to all the Taiwanese people.

As an honorary citizen of Changhua County, Iden traveled to Taiwan to explore more of the country and let more know people know about its beauty.

鐵人三項運動員伊登再度造訪台灣

2022-12-04

來自挪威的鐵人三項運動員古斯塔夫·伊登，2019年在IRONMAN 70.3 世界錦標賽中，因為戴著彰化「順澤宮」帽子，瞬間在台灣爆紅，還成為彰化縣榮譽縣民。這回他再次造訪台灣，除了參加鐵人三項比賽，也更深入探索台灣，希望讓更多人知道台灣之美。

熱情地與台灣媒體和粉絲打招呼，他是古斯塔夫·伊登，2022年鐵人三項世界冠軍、兩屆鐵人三項70.3世界錦標賽冠軍。2019年，率先衝到比賽終點的伊登，因為頭上那頂彰化「順澤宮」帽子，瞬間在台灣爆紅，他說自己是在東京街頭撿到了這頂帽子，同時相信會給他帶來好運。

[[鐵人三項世錦賽冠軍古斯塔夫·伊登]]
"這頂帽子陪伴我度過了好幾個年頭了，它確實改變了我的人生，戴上帽子後感覺很特別，看到其他人戴著帽子也感覺很特別，這讓我意識到我真的影響了別人，讓我發現到我要做好事，不僅要有好的表現，還要獲得尊重。當我戴上帽子的時候，我真的很清楚，我不僅代表我自己和挪威，也代表了台灣"

伊登表示，他很高興看到其他人戴上這頂帽子，也說當自己戴上這頂帽子時，代表的不僅是挪威，還有台灣。

伊登與台灣粉絲們相見歡，有些粉絲為了買一頂和他一樣的帽子，從台北騎自行車到彰化。

[[粉絲 Richard Tsai]]
"我們有五個人，我們從台北一路騎自行車到彰化買帽子，我們在一天內完成這個任務，騎了230公里”

[[粉絲 Tres Stallworth]]
"我來這裡是為了一睹兩位世界冠軍的風采，因為我有參加鐵人三項，我們都有參加鐵人三項，我們真的很高興他們來到台灣”

[[粉絲 Klaus Neubeck ]]
"我當時在猶他州，那時候他們的速度太快了，我沒有機會和他們要簽名或合影，所以我今天來這裡。我有一頂來自猶他州的帽子，我喜歡這頂帽子，我希望他們能簽名。"

[[粉絲 Daniel Ray]]
"我希望我能從他們那裡偷來一些速度，也許會得到一些好運，以及一些訓練技巧，我也想告訴他們台灣有多棒，因為台灣具備訓練鐵人三項很好的場域"

不同於2019年獨自來台，伊登這一次與另一位鐵人三項好手布魯門費爾特一同來台。布魯門費爾特是挪威鐵人三項運動員，也是東京奧運鐵人三項和世界冠軍的金牌得主。在台期間，他們一同品嚐了臭豆腐、蚵仔煎等當地美食。

[[京奧運鐵人三項金牌得主 Kristian Blummenfelt]]
"沒有甚麼食物是我沒試過的，照片裡可以看見我們已經試了全部的美食，最大的亮點可能是臭豆腐，因為我現在知道，我可以吃任何東西"

[[鐵人三項世錦賽冠軍伊登]]
"台灣成了我的第二個家，每次看到有關台灣的新聞，我都感到很開心。回到這裡真是太酷了。上次來這裡，還被選為彰化縣榮譽市民。運動可以帶你走更遠的路。當我開始我的鐵人三項職業生涯時，我沒想過會有今天這樣的成績，因為我當時只是熱愛訓練。能夠體驗台灣的文化是件非常棒的事情。非常感謝所有台灣人"

身為彰化縣榮譽縣民，伊登探索台灣，希望讓更多人知道台灣之美。

Japan’s LDP policy chief to visit Taiwan in first trip of its kind in nearly 20 years

2022-12-04

Steel industry goes green as CSC unveils Taiwan’s first steel and chemical cogeneration plant

With the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Taiwan’s largest steel maker CSC has built the nation’s first steel and chemical cogeneration pilot plant. The NT$200 million steelmaking facility is able to capture gases from both a blast furnace and oxygen converter and then channel them directly to a chemical plant to make petrochemicals. The project is the result of collaboration between CSC, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Once operations begin, an estimated 4,900 tons of carbon emissions can be cut every year.

Economics minister Wang Mei-hua, ITRI president Edwin Liu and CSC chairman Wong Chao-tung were all on stage to unveil Taiwan’s first steel and chemical cogeneration pilot plant. The facility makes use of carbon capture utilization technology. In this way, it can reduce up to 4,900 tons of carbon emissions annually

Edwin Liu
ITRI president
Carbon capture, utilization and storage are important technologies. We hope to create a healthy carbon circulation.

In the future, the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from CSC’s steel and iron manufacturing processes will be purified here and then sent directly to another plant that produces chemical raw materials. This chemical plant will not need to use any additional raw materials when it churns out new petrochemicals. This does not only lead to a reduction in carbon emissions, but also less dependence on new raw materials. Thus, a crisis of a shortage in raw materials can be avoided.

Wang Mei-hua
Minister of economic affairs
The petrochemical plant can use these raw materials, without having to import others, so you reduce carbon emissions at both ends at the same time.

CSC says the cogeneration pilot plant is a key link on Taiwan’s pathway toward carbon neutrality by 2050. It has set 2025 as the target year for demonstration manufacturing and 2040 as the target year for commercial operations.

Wong Chao-tung
CSC chairman
The second stage is to set up a demonstration plant with our petrochemical partners, and the amount of carbon capture will reach 240,000 tons. The third stage is to incorporate the entire petrochemical industry so that all new materials are circulated, and this will achieve an annual carbon reduction of 2.9 million tons.

Through cross-industry cooperation, this experimental pilot plant will play a key role in the creation of a win-win situation that protects the environment as well as creates new green commercial opportunities.

2022-12-04

Premier Su Tseng-chang boards locomotive at Changhua Roundhouse, fulfilling a childhood dream

2022-12-04

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2022-12-04

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Hong Kong artist Kong Chun Hei explores COVID anxiety in works now on show in Taiwan

Today in our spotlight series, we meet a multi-disciplinary artist from Hong Kong named Kong Chun Hei. He is now in Taiwan holding an exhibition titled "Absent Minded." Kong created works inspired by his life and observations in Hong Kong over the past two years. Our reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Kong to find out more.

Walking into the exhibition, visitors are greeted by a corridor paved with small weight scales. But if you look closely, the numbers have been removed. This is Kong Chun Hei’s work called "Feedback." He spent about a month making 112 small scales. Kong says this work represents the anxiety that many people felt during COVID restrictions.

Kong Chun Hei
Hong Kong artist
This time in the show, I made some works which are more about calculation and calculating systems, but I would hide some important information to let the audience when they pass by or walk on it have anxiety feeling.

This is another piece by Kong titled "Turn Into Its Own Loop." Kong drew a series of different tangled wires in hopes of bringing to light the many problems that are left unaddressed in the world.

Kong Chun Hei
Hong Kong artist
In this show, I have 10 pieces of drawings. What I drew is some messy cables and power cords in my studio. I use the same cables, but I change it to different shapes. And then, I try to draw it very carefully. I refer to it just like some of the same questions and the same problems, but when they change into different forms. It will become kind of like a new picture.

Another installation is lights around the room that switch off and on when someone walks by.

Kong Chun Hei
Hong Kong artist
In this show, I have a light interaction system. It has an ultrasonic sensor. I put the sensors and lights in a different way so that when the audience passes by, they don’t know which light will turn off. It becomes a strange situation because you haven’t done anything, but the lights suddenly one or two may turn off because someone passes by but it is not you. Somehow I think in this kind of strange situation; everything seems urgent. If you do something you think at the moment is a casual decision, but somehow you kind of turn down something in the future or turn it down like a corner that you never know. That is somehow a feeling I have in Hong Kong, so I made it into an installation to relate to this.

Kong graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2009. He lives and works in Hong Kong as a multidisciplinary artist. Throughout his career, he has experimented with a variety of mediums such as painting, installations, videos, and sound. Kong is currently in Taiwan exhibiting some of his newest works that are inspired by his life, events, and observations from 2020 to 2022. The exhibition explores self-restoration and self-reflection through a variety of interactive installations.

Kong Chun Hei
Hong Kong artist
The show is called "Absent Minded." I think because there are some restrictions and some strange policies in Hong Kong, to me. I think the way that I live and how I perceive the things, I use this kind of attitude to try to rethink what is important or essential. So I can try to have a different way of living. I would like to make works with more of a sense of humor because things are more isolative here. This time the exhibition is what I think in the these two years.

Kong hopes to continue to express his thoughts and observations through art. Kong’s pieces will be exhibited at the TKG+ Gallery till Jan. 7.

2022-12-04

Weather to turn cooler this week under the influence of the northeast monsoon

The weather in northern regions became noticeably cooler on Sunday as cold air from the north descended on the island. The coldest periods during this wave are forecast to be in the early hours of Monday and Tuesday, when lows in the northern regions are expected to average 17 degrees. It’ll warm up a little on Wednesday before a second wave of cold air arrives on Thursday. This will send the mercury plunging again to 16 degrees. While the central and southern regions won’t be affected as much, the CWB says residents there should expect large temperature swings between daytime and nighttime.

Saturday’s slightly warmer temperatures proved to be ephemeral as the mercury dropped again on Sunday. The island’s plains saw temperatures of 20 degrees. The current drop in temperatures is just the first of two waves of cold air that will arrive this week.

Liu Pei-teng
CWB forecaster
The first wave started to pick up today and will affect us on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the northeast monsoon will weaken a little, and temperatures will bounce back a little. But after Thursday, there will be another wave of the northeast monsoon. This next wave will likely be stronger, and temperatures could drop to 16 or 17 degrees.

The first wave of the northeast monsoon already started to make itself felt on Sunday. The forecaster says Taiwan’s northern and eastern regions, particularly in Keelung and along the north coast and mountainous regions in greater Taipei and Yilan, will be prone to localized heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures in northern Taipei will dip to as low as 17 degrees as a result of this first wave of cold air. On Wednesday, the northeast monsoon will weaken, and the weather will warm up. However, on Thursday, another wave of the northeast monsoon will arrive, and its influence will last into the weekend. The northern regions could see lows of 16 and 17 degrees. Even though this will only have a minor impact on the central and southern regions, the CWB reminds the public to pay attention to temperature swings between daytime and nighttime.

Liu Pei-teng
CWB forecaster
The change in rainfall patterns won’t be very great. People in the northern and eastern regions should watch for the possibility of rainfall this coming week. Rainfall on Wednesday will taper off. However, people in the northeastern regions that are on the island’s windward side, along with Keelung and the north coast should watch for heavy rain. Daytime temperatures in the central and southern regions could reach 25 or 26 degrees. So in the coming week, people in the southern and central regions should watch for nighttime and daytime temperature shifts.

The gap between the two waves of cold air won’t feel obvious. Northern Taiwan will get the brunt of the northeast monsoon all week. As the CWB’s Director-General Cheng Ming-dean wrote on Facebook, we’re already into a Taipei winter.

2022-12-04

Norwegian athlete with Changhua temple ‘victory cap’ visits Taiwan again