week 4-冰桶挑戰

Challenge raises funds, icy response

By Jason Pan  /  Staff writer, with CNA
Wed, Aug 20, 2014 
Taiwanese celebrities and public figures braced themselves to have buckets of ice water dumped on their heads yesterday as they joined an Internet sensation to raise awareness about a paralyzing disease.

Business tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) took the Ice Bucket Challenge in New Taipei City alongside people fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and volunteers from the Taiwan Motor Neuron Disease Association, which helps people with ALS.

Standing under a bucket controlled by a robotic arm, the chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known as Foxconn in China, was soaked after his wife and an ALS patient in a wheelchair pulled a rope tied to the device.

Gou participated after being nominated by Xiaomi Corp CEO Lei Jun (雷軍) for the task, in which participants can either douse themselves in ice water or donate US$100 to an ALS charity, or both.

However, Gou did not stop at US$100, but pledged US$200,000 to the Taiwanese association and announcing a further cash donation of US$100,000 to a former employee who was diagnosed with the disease.

Gou also nominated others to take on the challenge, including Taiwanese supermodel and actress Lin Chi-ling (林志玲), who has agreed to take part, he said.

After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) and his main rival in the Taipei race, independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), took the plunge a day earlier, local politicians continued with the challenge yesterday.

KMT Yilan County commissioner candidate Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞), after having a bucket of ice water poured on her, challenged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

The Presidential Office said Ma opted to make a donation rather than take the icy bath.

However, Taipei City councilor Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) of the Democratic Progressive Party deplored the “celebrity showboating” aspect of the phenomenon.

In a post on Facebook yesterday, Wu said the name-dropping in the Ice Bucket Challenge has become a celebrity marketing activity, “to show off how well-connected a person is and to flaunt one’s wealth and power networking... The focus now seems to be on the ice bucket rather than ALS sufferers.”

“When a charity campaign becomes a celebrity PR activity, those who benefit from it are not society’s disadvantaged,” she added.

Citing examples, Wu said National Development Council Minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), after dumping ice water over himself, challenged newly sworn-in Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) to do it, and from there, Duh named some business tycoons to follow up.

Wu added that after Lien drenched himself, he challenged New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), who in return nominated Wowprime Group chairman Dai Sheng-yi (戴勝益).

“Doesn’t this manifest the intricate links of business money and political power in Taiwan? Through the Ice Bucket Challenge, this link between politics and money is shown in its naked openness to the public, and these people have no qualms about it,” Wu said.

“After Lien was doused with the ice water, he said: ‘It felt great!’ That left me speechless. As it becomes about showing off, concern for ALS sufferers fades into the background,” Wu said. “Most of the time, government officials try to evade responsibility when things go wrong. Miraculously, officials are now serving easy balls for each other to hit. The Ice Bucket Challenge has become ‘showboat’ time for these figures.”

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/08/20/2003597822

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-Taiwanese celebrities and public figures

   WHEN-yesterday 

   WHAT-participants can either douse themselves in ice water or donate US$100 to an ALS charity, or both.

   WHY-to raise awareness about a paralyzing disease.

   WHERE-Taiwan

   HOW-doused with the ice water

Keywords： 

   1. braced  : 支撐

   2. alongside : 一起

   3. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis : 肌萎縮側索硬化症

   4. soaked : 浸泡

   5. pledged : 承諾

   6. was diagnosed with : 被診斷出患有

   7. plunge : 投入

   8. deplored : 痛惜

   9. showboating : 賣弄

 10. intricate : 錯綜複雜的

week 3-台灣核四停工

Taiwan’s nuclear power plants are safe, expert says

By Mo Yan-chih  /  Staff reporter

Wed, May 08, 2013

Replacing nuclear power with coal-fired or fuel-fired energy sources would result in more casualties, a Hong Kong nuclear engineering expert said in a speech at the Presidential Office yesterday, adding that Taiwan’s nuclear power plants were safe.

City University of Hong Kong president Kao Way (郭位) made the comments in his speech on nuclear power as the keynote speaker at the Presidential Office’s monthly meeting.

He said that while nuclear power sources accounted for 13 percent of energy globally, coal-fired power, which is responsible for 40 percent of global energy, is the most dangerous energy source, as more than 100,000 people die every year due to mining accidents.

According to an unpublished report by NASA, about 1.8 million people around the world would die in the next 50 years if nuclear power was entirely replaced with coal-fired and fuel-fired power, and about 6,000 people in Taiwan would die, he said.

“I do not support nuclear power, and neither am I against it. I hope people will rationally explore the relationship between energy and the environment,” he said.

Kao’s speech on nuclear power came amid ongoing disputes over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市).

Following Kao’s speech, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) asked whether nuclear power is a global trend or if anti-nuclear power movements have just become a hot topic.

Kao said the development of nuclear power has slowed down in the past two years, but it should not be interpreted as a result of a rise in opposition to nuclear power.

Japan and Taiwan are the two nations that have most serious debates on the issue, and the most countries support nuclear power, he said.

He also defended the safety of nuclear power plants in Taiwan despite growing concerns about the issue among Taiwanese.

In a safety assessment on nuclear power plants in more than 30 nations that depend on nuclear power, the three nuclear power plants in Taiwan are listed high on the safety list, while the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan was ranked 26 in the safety list.

“The three nuclear power plants in Taiwan have maintained a good record in the past 30 years, and Taiwan should be proud of the safety of its power plants,” he said.

In response to public concerns about the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, he said the key issue would be whether the plant is equipped with a good automated control system in case the system suffered operational problems.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/05/08/2003561748

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-Fourth Nuclear Power Plant

   WHEN-not given

   WHAT-Kao’s speech on nuclear power came amid ongoing disputes over the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市).

   WHY-coal-fired power, which is responsible for 40 percent of global energy, is the most dangerous energy source

   WHERE-Taiwan

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   
   1. coal-fired : 燃煤

   2. fuel-fired : 燃油

   3. keynote speaker : 主講嘉賓

   4.mining accidents : 煤礦事故

   5.rationally : 理性地

   6.debates : 爭論

   7.ongoing : 進行的

   8.disputes : 糾紛

   9. safety assessment : 安全評估

 10.automated control system : 自動化控制系統

week 2-台北捷運屠殺

MRT attacker kills 4 people, injures 22

By Stacy Hsu  /  Staff writer, with CNA

Thu, May 22, 2014

A 21-year-old student allegedly killed four people and injured 22 yesterday in a random killing spree on a train of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Bannan Line.

The four victims were a 47-year-old woman, a 62-year-old woman and two men aged 20 and 30. They had reportedly lost all vital signs before they were rushed to the New Taipei City Hospital’s Banciao Branch, the Taipei Hospital and the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital respectively.

It was the first deadly attack on an MRT train since the Taipei commuter rail system went into commercial service in 1996.

The suspect, who has been identified as Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) from Greater Taichung’s Tunghai University, allegedly started attacking passengers around him with a 30cm-long fruit knife while the train was traveling between the Longshan Temple Station and the Jiangzicui Station at approximately 4:26pm.

He was apprehended by security guards, police officers and other passengers shortly after the train stopped at the Jiangzicui Station, from where he was taken to the Jiangzicui police station for questioning.

According to New Taipei City Police Department Director-General Chen Kuo-en (陳國恩), Cheng boarded an MRT train heading to the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center at the Jiangzicui Station earlier in the afternoon and alighted at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station.

He subsequently hopped on the ill-fated train heading to the Banciao Station before carrying out the killing spree, Chen added.

“The suspect told us that he had since elementary school wanted to ‘do something big’ and that he had shared the idea with some of his high-school and college classmates,” Chen said.

Chen said Cheng originally planned to execute the idea after he graduated from university, but decided to move it forward to yesterday after giving it some thought last week.

“He bought two fruit knives of different sizes from a supermarket before he boarded the trains… His blood-alcohol content registered 0.04mg/L and he has no medical records of mental illness,” Chen said.

“He showed no signs of remorse during questioning,” Chen added.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said that for the next two weeks, the city government planned to deploy 80 special police officers to MRT stations to conduct routine patrols, to assist the 143 MRT police officers.

“Our priority is to restore order and security at MRT stations to make sure that our passengers do not feel afraid when taking the metro,” Hau said.

New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said the city government had instructed all available police officers to patrol the areas surrounding the city’s 34 MRT stations shortly after the incident, in an effort to tighten security.

Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (台北捷運公司) general manager Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said the company would give NT$4 million (US$132,000) in compensation to the families of the victims and would take care of all medical expenses incurred by the injured passengers.

Additional reporting by Liu Ching
hohttp://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/05/22/2003590929

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-A 21-year-old student Cheng Chieh
WHEN- yesterday 
WHAT-A 21-year-old student allegedly killed four people and injured 22
WHY-The suspect told us that he had since elementary school wanted to ‘do something big’
WHERE-on a train of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Bannan Line.
HOW-attacking passengers around him with a 30cm-long fruit knife
Keywords：
1. allegedly : 涉嫌
2. The suspect : 犯罪嫌疑人
3. security guards : 保安員
4. apprehended : 被捕
5. the ill-fated : 命運多舛
6. blood-alcohol content : 血液酒精含量
7. deploy : 部署
8.remorse : 悔意
9.tighten : 加強
10. compensation : 賠償