Summer kicks off with sizzling temps nationwide

2024-06-21

A high-pressure system sent temperatures soaring on Friday, which was also summer solstice. The highest temperature of the day, 37.5 degrees, was recorded in Kaohsiung’s Meinong District. Temps of 37.4 degrees were seen in Pingtung and Yunlin. Around noon in Taipei, the mercury stood at 36.5 degrees.

But the sky gave way to afternoon showers in many parts of the island. In Taipei, heavy rains led to a leak in the ceiling at the metro’s Zhongxiao Fuxing Station.

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夏至高溫! 高雄美濃37.5度最熱

2024-06-21

今天是24節氣中的夏至，受到太平洋高壓影響，各地飆高溫，最熱在高雄美濃達37.5度。屏東和雲林37.4度，台北接近中午時也站上36.5度。

不過午後熱力作用下，天氣說變就變，許多地方都下起午後雷雨。午後瞬間大雨，也讓北捷忠孝復興站天花板出現漏水，車站內也下起小雨，所幸雨量變小後已經排除。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Legislature rejects Cabinet’s request to reconsider controversial amendments

The Legislative Yuan has rejected the Cabinet’s request to reconsider amendments that strengthen the legislature’s investigative powers. The motion was defeated in a vote of 62 to 51, with the KMT and TPP joining forces against the Cabinet. President Lai Ching-te is now legally bound to promulgate the controversial amendments. But the DPP says it will try to overturn the legislation, by seeking a constitutional interpretation.

Legislative speaker Han Kuo-yu announces the result: In a vote of 62 to 51, the legislature rejected the Cabinet’s request to reconsider its recently passed amendments. Before casting their votes, lawmakers from all three parties had shown their ballots to the camera.

Every lawmaker had voted along the party line. Even the speaker had cast a vote.

Lin Chu-yin
DPP lawmaker
The speaker should maintain principles of fairness and neutrality in the exercise of duties.

Outside the Legislative Yuan, protesting civic groups said that the vote’s outcome was unsurprising. They vowed to return to the streets if opposition lawmakers continued to push contentious bills.

Lo I
Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan
We will continue our grassroots efforts and hold dialogues on issues that they may promote in the future, such as three transport bills for eastern Taiwan and the party assets law. We hope to mobilize even more supporters. We don’t rule out gathering once again at the Legislative Yuan if the KMT and TPP forcefully push for these contested bills.

With the Cabinet motion defeated by the KMT-TPP coalition, the DPP caucus said it would seek an injunction to freeze the amendments. It also plans to file for a constitutional interpretation.

Ker Chien-ming
DPP caucus whip
We will propose a constitutional interpretation as soon as possible. The KMT and TPP stand on the opposite end of public opinion, and on the opposite end of the Constitution. Today, their behavior essentially put their heads on the political chopping block. The TPP has formally lowered its white flag and hoisted up a blue one, formally becoming a mini-KMT.

Cho Jung-tai
Premier
Of course we feel that we need to work harder, but later I will consult with speaker Han Kuo-yu. Two of the amendments involve elements that are contrary to constitutional order and constitutional design, so in the future, I may once more hold joint discussions with everyone in the legislature. We will pursue remedies that the Constitution provides to government agencies and constitutional entities.

Even with the Cabinet motion defeated, the standoff over the legislation is set to continue. The DPP’s constitutional challenge can be launched three days after President Lai Ching-te promulgates the amendments, which could be next Wednesday at the earliest.

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2024-06-21

VP Hsiao Bi-khim talks cross-strait relations at think tank event

2024-06-21

North Korea and Russia pledge mutual defense

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un upgraded their countries’ relationship during a meeting in Pyongyang on Wednesday. As Voice of America’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul, the two leaders signed a treaty with a mutual defense clause, which is criticized by the U.S. and its allies as a threat to global peace.

Not many countries give Vladimir Putin this kind of welcome. A festive mood in Kim Il Sung Square, as the Russian president visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years. Ties have strengthened after North Korea supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a war that has made Putin a pariah in many other countries. Two isolated leaders looking for friends. They met one-on-one for two hours. Afterwards, the two men signed a treaty pledging to come to each other’s defense if attacked.

Vladimir Putin
Russian president
The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today includes, among other things, mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement.

Kim Jong Un
North Korean leader
Our two countries’ relations have been elevated to a new, high level of alliance, laying the legal groundwork for the grand ideas of leadership of the two countries.

The signing of the mutual defense treaty surprised many observers, who view the Putin-Kim relationship as a marriage of convenience.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo
King’s College London
Kim Jong Un has been able to extract more concessions than we thought he would be able to from his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But while Putin and Kim may be trying to reanimate Soviet-era relations, not all analysts are convinced that will be easy – noting that the relationship has long seen ups and downs.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo
King’s College London
Clearly it’s an important development, but I think we will need to see this relationship continue on a strong footing for a number of years before we can say there has been a definite change in the relationship between the two countries.

For now, both men are portraying friendly relations. Before leaving Pyongyang, Putin gave Kim a luxury Russian limousine, even taking him for a drive around palace grounds. An attempt to present a unified stance as each man confronts the West.

Bill Gallo, VOA News, Seoul, South Korea.

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2024-06-21

ASUS and NHRI to build AI biomedical supercomputer

Taiwan is set to become a "super-aged" society by 2025, meaning that one in five citizens will be 65 and above. To serve the graying population, the National Health Research Institutes and tech giant ASUS will build an AI supercomputer focused on biomedicine. The project will integrate a wealth of biomedical big data to provide smarter medical care to patients.

Amid the rise of precision medicine and smart health care, the National Health Research Institutes and ASUS have signed a letter of intent to build Taiwan’s first-ever AI supercomputer dedicated to biomedicine.

Jonney Shih
Asus chair
We are constructing AI computing infrastructure for important life science research in the post-pandemic era, such as vaccine development, genetic analysis, and medical big data. We will continue to provide a first-class AI software platform for the AI supercomputer project.

This medical information platform will host information on genetics and cancer drugs. The hope is that in the future, it can use clinical research data to promote the development of the domestic AI biomedicine industry.

Sytwu Huey-kang
National Health Research Institutes
There is important clinical information relating to cancer patients, data on medications, post-recovery reactions, all antibiotics in Taiwan, patients who are resistant to drugs, and other relevant information. We’ve gathered together over 80,000 important disease strains. This is all crucial biomedical data.

Chiu Tai-yuan
Health minister
By continuously accumulating real-world data, we can establish all kinds of correlation patterns and trends relating to health and diseases, as well as accelerate the development and approval process of future medications, so that every single person can obtain even more accurate and personalized treatments and medical advice.

Taiwan is set to become a super-aged society by 2025. Now with a dedicated next-generation data bank, high-risk groups – such as people with cancer genes and chronic diseases – can receive smarter and more comprehensive health care.

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2024-06-21

Splash paint around to de-stress at new action paint studio in Taipei

Have you ever tried action painting? It’s a style of abstract painting in which paint is randomly splashed, thrown or poured on the canvas. It was made famous by artist Jackson Pollock. An action painting studio has just opened up in Taipei, offering visitors a chance to both de-stress and unleash their inner creativity. FTV reporter Stephany Yang joined the throngs of splashers to find out what it’s all about.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
After changing into a rain poncho, I’m ready to action paint.

Take paint brushes, dip them into different paint, and splash the paint onto a canvas.

This is a new action painting studio that recently opened up in Taipei. Visitors can choose from 12 colors and use a variety of painting tools and water guns to unleash their inner creativity.

Member of the public
I wanted to experience it, vent, and throw paint. My painting is an ocean, sunset, and the green parts are turtles.

Member of the public
When I was painting in the past, I would always paint something more specific. Here, they provide a venue and materials for you to create something out of the box. I think it’s really fun.

Chevy Wei
Founder
We provide many kinds of media and special painting tools. The biggest rule is to be safe. As long as you are safe, you can do anything. You can put paint on your hands, you can use a brush to splash it on the canvas, and you can spray it. We even encountered patrons applying paint on their mouths and kissing the canvas. There are various ways to have fun and create.

The action painting studio is the brainchild of Chevy Wei. He was inspired by another action painting studio in New York. Action painting is an abstract style of painting in which paint is splashed onto the canvas, rather than being carefully drawn out. The studio teaches students color matching and splatter techniques. Wei hopes to encourage his patrons to let loose, de-stress, and let go of perfection.

Chevy Wei
Founder
I graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts. I didn’t major in art, but I saw a space in New York that does splatter art. It had a high-rise factory space. I hope that creating a space in Taipei can lower the threshold for everyone to get involved in art. I don’t want people to think that you need to go to a studio to learn oil painting and be very proper or feel distant from art. We hope that everyone can be a genius, creative and talented. Don’t judge yourself. There is no right or wrong.

People of all ages and levels of skill can embrace their inner artists and create their own masterpieces at this studio.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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2024-06-21

Greater Taipei to strengthen traffic law enforcement from July to September

With summer vacation underway, police are bracing for a spike in scooter accidents. In greater Taipei, the number of scooter accidents rises in June and peaks from July to September, as high school students hit the road. This summer, police plan to step up traffic law enforcement, in hopes of bringing down the accident rate by 10%.

In the greater Taipei area, there are more than 3.2 million registered scooters. Scooters are involved in nearly 85% of traffic injuries and deaths in Taipei, and some 80% in New Taipei.

Hsieh Ming-hong
Department of Transportation head
From June to the end of the year, the number of traffic accidents goes up steadily. There are a lot of high school students who use scooters before heading off to college and getting their driver’s license. This causes an increase in accidents, which we start to see in July.

In the last three years, scooter traffic accidents have surged in the summer months, rising in June and peaking in July and August. In response, traffic police in greater Taipei will strengthen law enforcement for three months, from July to September. The crackdown will target areas and times of day when violations are most likely to occur.

Lin Tai-yu
New Taipei traffic police corps
In the summer months of July to September, we will try to reduce the accident rate by 10% compared to last year.

Huang Chien-sheng
Taipei traffic police corps
We will target hotspots – places where motorists tend not to stop for pedestrians, such as Zhonghua Road Section Two. We’ll also target commercial districts like Ximending, Gongguan, and Shilin. Places where there are lots of pedestrians will see increased traffic enforcement.

Taipei and New Taipei are ramping up traffic law enforcement to make the streets safer. In related news, Taiwan added a hazard perception component to its scooter license test at the start of the month, in another initiative to reduce traffic fatalities.

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2024-06-21

Fisheries Agency holds Eid al-Adha celebration for 800 foreign fishermen

2024-06-21

Taiwan sweeps Indonesia Open International Kabaddi

Taiwanese athletes in kabaddi, a contact team sport originating in India, won big at an international open tournament in Indonesia. Taiwan defeated squads from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia to win both the men’s and women’s titles.

A Malaysian player, wearing yellow, lunges forward to make a play. She turns back when sensing trouble, only to be blocked by a Taiwanese defender from behind. Other players quickly surround her, scoring a point for Taiwan.

The Taoyuan’s women’s kabaddi team went to Indonesia for an international open competition. They beat out the national teams of Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, before taking the women’s title. The Hsinchu City’s men’s team also came out on top.

Hsinchu’s team accepts the trophy and the audience breaks out into applause. The athletes, who hail from Hsuan Chuang University, defeated Malaysia in the final by a margin of 21-9.

Yang Kei-hsin
Kabaddi player
I feel that the key to our victory was our mindset going into the competition. We all wanted to make it happen. We very much wanted to win.

Cha Yu-tung
Kabaddi player
I’m so happy. It’s great to have helped my team win. My performance on the field was better than I expected.

Originating from India, the team sport of kabaddi is a medal event at the Asian Games. Its variations include standard-style indoor kabaddi and beach kabaddi. Although the rules differ slightly, the main way to score points is for offensive players to invade the opposing team’s territory without getting intercepted. That’s where Taiwan’s athletes excelled.

Huang Jih-hung
Kabaddi coach
A person’s physical fitness and physique are already fixed. The other factors are a team’s communication on the field and its skills in offense and defense. I think that these things are key to winning games.

At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Taiwan won silver in women’s kabaddi and bronze in men’s. Taiwan’s women’s team also secured bronze at an international kabaddi tournament in 2018. Up next is the first-ever East Asian tournament for women’s kabaddi, to be hosted in Taipei at the end of the month. Taiwan will strive to keep the title at home, playing against teams from Japan and Hong Kong.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-06-21

Indian expat opens restaurant as center of cultural exchange

Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan initially came to Taiwan to study, and after graduating, he found a job here. He now runs an Indian restaurant in Taichung. Unlike other places that tend to offer just one type of regional cuisine, Satyajeet offers dishes from central as well as northern India, with customizable spice levels. This year he even attended the Baishatun Matsu Pilgrimage, offering free chai to his fellow participants.

Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan
Restaurant owner
This black salt was brought from India. We use it in summer drinks.

Add black salt imported from India and some ice, then shake vigorously. Top it off with soda water, as well as lemon and mint to add flavor, and you’re done.

Born in Mumbai, Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan has already lived in Taiwan for 11 years. He originally came for university, then found a job in Central Taiwan after graduating. Now he runs his own restaurant.

Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan
Restaurant owner
We’re accustomed to different things than Taiwanese people. Taiwanese eat breakfast at 7 or 8 a.m., lunch at 12 or 1, then dinner at 5 or 6. But Indians eat breakfast at 8 or 9, then lunch at 2 or 3 and dinner at 8 or 9. But here in Taiwan we have no choice. By 10 p.m. I’d be hungry, so I started cooking for myself. I’ve come to really enjoy it.

Cooking has become an interest of Satyajeet. At his restaurant, he hopes to offer a wide variety of options for his Taiwanese and Indian customers. Every weekend the restaurant turns into a space for cultural exchange, where visitors eat and share about their lives.

Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan
Restaurant owner
I’m thinking that I’ll gradually start to sell some Indian products. For instance, woodwork from India is pretty special. We’re thinking of selling all kinds of different things.

Satyajeet is passionate about cultural exchange. He even participated in this year’s Baishatun Matsu Pilgrimage, where he handed out free chai.

Satyajeet Ashok Shevgan
Restaurant owner
We’re closed on Tuesdays. Matsu was just over in Dajia, so we could participate. It’s similar in India. When I was little, I’d also walk with the deity for two or three days, over 50 or 60 kilometers. It was a lot of fun.

Satyajeet has done it all in Taiwan, from studying to working and starting a business, even participating in religious festivals. He can’t be called anything other than Taiwanese, ready to tackle whatever’s in store for him next in his second home.

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Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-06-21