Week4-Tainan earthquake

A rescue operation taking place after the Taiwan earthquake has been concluded as the remains of the last unaccounted for person was pulled from the wreckage of the Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex. In total 116 people have been confirmed dead after the powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake, with all but two of the victims living at the 17-storey Weiguan Jinlong (Golden Dragon) building.

The earthquake struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan on 7 February leaving the city strewn with twisted metal, fallen bricks and concrete debris. The city had a population of 1.9 million people and on Friday 12 February, the president and president-elect attended a memorial service for the dead and missing.

Tainan City mayor William Lai announced an end to the operation on Saturday (13 February) as the remains of Hsieh Chen-yu were discovered at 3.57pm local time. In total 289 people were pulled out of the collapsed building with 173 still alive and 96 remain in hospital.

Although residents lived in the upper regions of the complex, its lower storeys were filled with arcades of shops which initially gave way under the strain of the quake before the whole of the U-shaped construction was destroyed. The last survivor was dragged out of the wreckage on Monday evening (8 February).

The Taiwanese government immediately launched an investigation into the construction of the building complex after blue cans were pictured – reportedly used as construction fillers in the beams. Reports from the city suggest that the residents living in the building, constructed in 1989, had often complained of problems like tiles falling from walls, malfunction of lifts and the building having too few reinforcing bars.

Lin Ming-hui, former chairman of the now disbanded Weiguan company, and two other former executives Chang Kui-an and Cheng Chin-kui now face charges of professional negligenceresulting in death after appearing in court on Wednesday 10 February.

Hsieh, a member of the blocks management committee "might have wanted to wait until everyone else had left", Lai said, according to the Central News Agency. He added that the: "The search and rescue has come to an end".

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/taiwan-earthquake-116-confirmed-dead-tainan-search-survivors-concluded-1543768

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-not given

      WHEN-Friday 12 February

      WHAT-Tainan earthquake

      WHY-not given

      WHERE-Taiwan

      HOW-Tainan earthquake cause 116 people die

Keywords：

   1.wreckage:殘骸

   2.strewn :灑滿

   3.amend :修改

   4.brick:磚塊

   5.arcade:拱廊

   6.strain :應變

   7.filler:填料

  8.executive:行政人員

Week3-12 night

A new documentary about the plight of animals in Taiwan’s shelters has sparked a public discussion about the treatment of stray dogs and cats on the island, prompting the government to amend its policies.

“Twelve Nights,” shot almost entirely inside a government-run animal shelter in southern Taiwan, follows the fate of several stray dogs, starting from their initial capture on the streets. After 12 days in the shelter, the animals are destroyed, have died of disease, or, if they are lucky, end up in the arms of a new owner.

Although the problem of street dogs isn’t a fresh one in Taiwan, the movie has attracted a throng of animal lovers. As of the beginning of this week, “Twelve Nights” had pulled in more 30 million New Taiwan dollars (US$1 million) since its release on Nov. 29, according to the film’s distributor, a considerable amount for a documentary in Taiwan.

The film opens with a black-and-white puppy named Jumpy prancing happily in a well-manicured neighborhood and other harmless-looking dogs wandering the streets.

The scene quickly changes. Animals — including a kitten and a basket full of puppies — are jerked and tossed around by workers as they are taken to the shelter.

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/12/13/film-triggers-debate-on-plight-of-taiwans-homeless-dogs/

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-not given

      WHEN-Nov. 29

      WHAT- “Twelve Nights” had pulled in more 30 million New Taiwan dollars since its release on Nov. 29

      WHY-not given

      WHERE-Taiwan

      HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1.plight:困境

   2.shelter :庇護

   3.amend :修改

   4.distributor:經銷商

   5.prancing :躍馬

   6.well-manicured:精心修剪

Week8-Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above

Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above is a 2013 documentary film which documents Taiwan completely in aerial photography. It is directed by aerial photographer Chi Po-lin and produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien, with narration by Wu Nien-jen. The music is composed by Ricky Ho, with three songs written and performed by Nolay Piho (Lin Ching-tai). The film opened on November 1, 2013 at 44 theaters in Taiwan, with Chinese and English subtitles. The film broke the Taiwan box office records for the largest opening weekend and the highest total gross of a locally produced documentary. The film was nominated for Best Documentary and Best Original Film Score at the 50th Golden Horse Awards, winning the best documentary category.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Beauty:_Taiwan_from_Above

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-Chi Po-lin and Hou Hsiao-hsien

      WHEN-2013 

      WHAT-documentary film which documents Taiwan completely in aerial photography

      WHY-not given

      WHERE-Taiwan

      HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1.documentary :紀錄片

   2.aerial :天線

   3.narration :記敘文

   4.nominate :提名

   5.Golden Horse Award:金馬獎

   

Week7-National Taichung Theater

President Ma Ying-jeou said Nov. 23 that National Taichung Theater will help attract more performing art groups to Taiwan and boost the country’s cultural profile.

“The theater is set to become a new landmark on the local cultural and creative landscape,” Ma said during a ceremony marking the commencement of trial operations at the facility in central Taiwan.

“Along with National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei City and Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts under construction in Kaohsiung City, the facility will help usher in a new era for the performing arts in Taiwan.”

Taking five years to complete, the NT$4.36 billion (US$141.56 million) project features a beamless design and irregular curved walls. It is the brainchild of Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Toyo Ito from Japan, whose work on the Kaohsiung Main Stadium attracted worldwide praise.

Covering 57,024 square meters in downtown Taichung, the facility includes a 2,000-seat grand performing hall, an 800-seat theatre and a 200-seat experimental theater. It will officially open to the public in early 2015 under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture.

As part of the celebrations, Taichung City Government is staging dance and theater performances, as well as concerts and light shows, at the site.

The inaugural show was a production of “Cat Man” by traditional opera troupe Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group. It is to be followed by performances of “Don Quixote” by the Paper Windmill Theatre Nov. 27 and 28. (SFC-JSM)

http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224373&ctNode=445

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-President Ma Ying-jeou

      WHEN-Nov. 23 

      WHAT-attract more performing art groups to Taiwan and boost the country’s cultural profile

      WHY-The theater is set to become a new landmark on the local cultural and creative landscape

      WHERE-National Taichung Theater

      HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1.commencement:開始

   2.facility :設施

   3.trial :審訊

   4.beamless :無梁

   5.experimental :試驗

   6.auspices :主持

   7.inaugural :就職

   8.troupe :劇團