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

2022-12-04

Hagiuda Koichi, the policy chief of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will come to Taiwan on a three-day visit on Dec. 10. In addition to attending the "Taiwan-Japan Trade and Economic Sustainability Forum," to be held at the Grand Hotel, he will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen.

This is the first such visit in nearly 20 years. The only other Japanese ruling party senior official to visit Taiwan was Aso Taro. Aso visited Taiwan in 2003 when he served as the then-policy chief of the LDP. Faced with China’s threats and daily military build-up, Japan hopes to strengthen relations with Taiwan through visits by party officials, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties between the two nations. In addition, Hagiuda had a close relationship with the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who stressed the importance of Taiwan-Japan ties. This trip is intended to show that Hagiuda wants to continue with Abe’s will, according to a Japanese news report.

自民黨高層萩生田光一將訪台拜會蔡總統

2022-12-04

日本執政的自民黨現任政調會長萩生田光一，將於12月10日來台訪問三天，除了出席將於12月11日於台北圓山大飯店舉行的「台日關係永續論壇」論壇外，也將拜會總統蔡英文。

萩生田光一是繼2003年的政調會長麻生太郎後，時隔19年再有身居自民黨「黨三役」，也就是幹事長、政調會長和總務會長、黨內3大要職人士，來台訪問。面對中國軍事威脅與日俱增，雖然台日沒有正式外交關係，日本希望透過政黨幹部訪問，建構「新日台關係」。另外，萩生田與重視台日關係的前首相安倍，關係密切，此行似乎也有意表現出繼承安倍遺志的樣態。

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

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

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.

2022-12-04

Activist Lee Ming-che joins crowd rallying in Taipei in support of China’s White Paper Movement

2022-12-04

Avoid eating prawns’ heads but enjoy the rest of the prawn: nutritionist

2022-12-04

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

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