June 17, 2023 – Page 2 – Taiwan News Gazette

June 17, 2023

“War Elephants” always warm up with Taiwan 2-2

Thai national football team, senior team Warm-up draw with Taiwan 2-2 in the game of FIFA Day.

FIFA Day warm-up football yesterday (June 16) at Kaohsiung National Stadium, Taiwan, the 156th team in the world, the home team opens the house to meet the Thai national team, the 114th team in the world.

This game, Mano Polking, is full, led by 3 foreign players like Chanathip Songkrasin, team captain, Supachok Sanchat and Nicholas Mickelson. The first half scores 0-0

The second half started just 3 minutes, Taiwan scored a goal out of the rhythm. Emilio shot and hit Kritsada Kaman, giving the team a 1-0 lead before the 62nd minute. Taiwan returned the error after coming into Teerasil Dangda’s way, touching, dodging the goal before shooting into Thailand to make it 1-1.

At the end of the game, 6 minutes before the end of time, the War Elephants took a 2-1 lead from Nicholas Mickelson’s rhythm before opening it to Wang Rui’s leg, blocking it into his own goal.

However, 3 minutes before the end of time, Taiwan got a goal from a free kick and it was Chen Ding Yang who took a strike at the second post to make Taiwan chase 2-2. The Thai national team ended the game with Taiwan 2-2.

next program The Thai national team will meet Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Stadium on June 19, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. Thailand time. .-Thai News Agency

Source: Thai News Agency

June 17, 2023

(2nd LD) N. Korea opens key party meeting to discuss diplomatic, defense strategies

North Korea has convened a key party meeting to discuss the country’s diplomatic and defense strategies in response to the “changed international situation,” with its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media reported Saturday.

Kim took part in the eighth “enlarged plenary meeting” of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) that opened Friday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The meeting will discuss “the issue of the state diplomatic and defence strategy to cope with the changed international situation,” and review economic projects undertaken in the first half of this year, the KCNA said in an English-language report.

It said participants unanimously approved agenda items, and that the meeting entered discussions, indicating that it will likely be held for multiple days.

The meeting comes as North Korea has been seeking to strengthen ties with Russia and China amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Pyongyang also faces increasing security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, with the three countries’ defense chiefs agreeing to operate a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time within the year as they met in Singapore early this month.

The North has continued to dial up tensions in recent weeks, firing two short-range ballistic missiles Thursday, and launching a space rocket carrying a purported military spy satellite on May 31, which ended up crashing into the Yellow Sea.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

Seoul education office to conduct full safety check on school meals amid concerns over Fukushima water release

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will conduct a full radiation test on school meals to check their safety amid concerns over Japan’s plan to release contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, officials said Saturday.

The education office initially planned to conduct sample tests on school meals but decided to conduct full tests when the release plan actually comes into action, to address the concerns of students and parents, according to the officials.

Japan reportedly plans to discharge radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, into the sea as early as this month.

Since 2013, South Korea has banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima.

On Friday, the government said the current import ban will remain in place regardless of Japan’s planned release of contaminated water.

According to the education office, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducts radiation tests on seafood products imported to South Korea, and the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service conducts tests on domestic products.

Authorities will conduct two to three additional tests on seafood that will be used as ingredients for school meals in Seoul.

Until now, authorities have only conducted on-site tests at some of the schools in Seoul.

The education office said it conducted radiation level tests at 267 schools in 2021 and 370 schools in 2022. No irregularities have been found.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

(LEAD) N. Korea opens key party meeting to discuss diplomatic, defense strategies

Kim took part in the enlarged plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) that opened Friday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The meeting will discuss “the issue of the state diplomatic and defence strategy to cope with the changed international situation,” and review economic projects in the first half of this year, KCNA said in an English-language report.

It said participants unanimously approved agenda items, and that the meeting entered discussions, indicating that it will likely be held for multiple days.

The meeting comes as North Korea has been seeking to strengthen ties with Russia and China amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Pyongyang also faces increasing security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan, with the three countries’ defense chiefs agreeing to operate a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time within the year as they met in Singapore early this month.

The North has continued to dial up tensions in recent weeks, firing two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, and launching a space rocket carrying a purported military spy satellite on May 31, which ended up crashing into the Yellow Sea.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

Daegu’s police, government authorities clash over annual queer festival

Police officers and local government officials engaged in an unprecedented clash just hours before an annual queer festival in the southeastern city of Daegu on Saturday.

The tension between the two sides was palpable as they converged upon the bustling shopping district of Dongseongno early in the morning, with one side attempting to prevent the festival organizers from illegally occupying roads, while the other worked to ensure the safety of the “legitimate” rally.

A massive contingent of approximately 1,500 police officers and 500 officials from the Daegu metropolitan government were at the scene.

The clash began when scores of Daegu officials stopped trucks of the festival organizers from entering the main venue — a designated “public transportation only” zone — to set up the festival stage at about 9:30 a.m. The standoff lasted for about 30 minutes.

As the city officials refused to yield, the police resorted to physically removing the officials from the roads to clear a path for the trucks to reach the venue. One city official sat down on the street, claiming to have sustained an injury during the process.

The organizers erupted in chants and cheers expressing their gratitude toward the police when trucks successfully reached the main venue area thanks to their intervention.

Earlier, the Daegu city government and the city’s Jungu district office threatened to exercise their administrative powers to prevent festival organizers from illegally occupying the roads to install booths and a stage for the festival.

The Daegu police agency, however, reportedly determined that even if a rally does not obtain a permit for occupying roads, it can be recognized as justified within the scope of the criminal and administrative laws.

Mayor Hong Joon-pyo convened an emergency press conference at the scene about 20 minutes later.

Noting that the organizers “illegally occupied the roads,” the mayor said he will hold the chief of the Daegu police agency responsible for the acts.

The Daegu Queer Culture Festival, a festival for the LGBTQ community and its supporters, has been held every year since 2009 in the city’s central district.

This year’s event comes a few days after the Daegu District Court rejected an injunction request by merchant and church groups in the city to ban the festival.

The plaintiffs said the queer event and its occupation of streets may restrict the merchants’ freedom of business, demanding a ban on an event stage within a 100-meter radius of the Dongseongno district and sales of goods.

But the court sided with the festival host, saying the business risks cited by the plaintiffs are ambiguous and that freedom of expression is as important as freedom of business.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

(LEAD) Daegu’s police, government authorities clash over annual queer festival

Police officers and local government officials engaged in an unprecedented clash just hours before an annual queer festival in the southeastern city of Daegu on Saturday, but the event ended without major conflict.

A massive contingent of approximately 1,500 police officers and 500 officials from the Daegu metropolitan government were at the scene.

The organizers erupted in chants and cheers expressing their gratitude toward the police when trucks successfully reached the main venue area thanks to their intervention.

Mayor Hong Joon-pyo convened an emergency press conference at the scene about 20 minutes later.

Noting that the organizers “illegally occupied the roads,” the mayor said he will hold the chief of the Daegu police agency responsible for the acts.

At around 5 p.m., about 1,000 participants marched around the downtown area with rainbow flags, a symbol of LGBTQ pride, for an hour and wrapped up the event without major clashes.

The Daegu Queer Culture Festival, a festival for the LGBTQ community and its supporters, has been held every year since 2009 in the city’s central district.

This year’s event comes a few days after the Daegu District Court rejected an injunction request by merchant and church groups in the city to ban the festival.

But the court sided with the festival host, saying the business risks cited by the plaintiffs are ambiguous and that freedom of expression is as important as freedom of business.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

U.S. keeps S. Korea on ‘monitoring list’ for foreign exchange policy

South Korea has again been placed on a list of countries to be closely monitored by the United States in terms of their foreign exchange policies, along with six other nations, the U.S. Department of Treasury has said.

Asia’s No. 4 economy has been placed on the list, along with China, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan, according to the Treasury’s latest foreign exchange policy report Friday (U.S. time). Compared with the previous release, Japan was removed from the list.

Countries are put on the monitoring list when they meet two of the three criteria set by the U.S. Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, also known as the 2015 Act.

The three criteria are a bilateral trade surplus of over US$15 billion with the United States, a material current account surplus of more than 3 percent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and persistent, one-sided intervention in the foreign currency market in at least eight months of a year with net purchases of over 2 percent of an economy’s GDP over a 12-month period.

South Korea only met one of the three, having a trade surplus of $37 billion, but stayed on the list as it “triggered at least two criteria in the last report.”

South Korea has been on the list since April 2016, except for the first half of 2019.

“Treasury estimates that the Korean authorities sold foreign exchange at increasing amounts throughout the first three quarters of 2022 in line with increasingly rapid won depreciation over the course of the year,” it said, noting sales moderated in the fourth quarter amid “reduced depreciation pressure on the won.”

“After supporting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean authorities have deployed monetary and fiscal policies to arrest inflation and financial imbalance concerns while continuing to support vulnerable households,” the U.S. Treasury said.

It also advised South Korea to utilize its “sizable fiscal capacity to support equitable and green growth policies that will raise incomes for vulnerable workers,” while “avoiding an unnecessarily rapid fiscal expansion.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

Fifty Fifty’s ‘Cupid’ spends 12th consecutive week on British chart

K-pop rookie sensation Fifty Fifty’s hit song “Cupid” has charted for the 12th consecutive week on the British Official Singles Chart Top 100.

According to the latest chart released Friday (British time), the song ranked 12th, dropping five places from 11th the previous week.

“Cupid” tied for the longest-charting song from a K-pop girl group with “Kiss and Make Up,” a collaborative single between BLACKPINK and Dua Lipa.

After entering the chart at No. 96 in early April, “Cupid” rapidly ascended the rankings, peaking at No. 8 on May 12. The achievement made Fifty Fifty the first K-pop girl group to crack the top 10 of the chart.

The four-member group made its debut in November and quickly rose to stardom in late March, becoming the fastest K-pop group to enter the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

“Take Two,” the latest digital single from K-pop supergroup BTS, debuted at No. 59 on the chart this week. The song dropped June 9 in celebration of the group’s 10th anniversary, which fell Tuesday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

June 17, 2023

BTS’ RM finds the group’s 10th anniversary amazing

RM, leader of K-pop supergroup BTS, on Saturday shared how he feels about the band’s 10th anniversary, which fell earlier this week.

He hit the stage for “It’s Kim Nam-joon at 5 p.m.,” a special program held as part of the two weeks of BTS 10th Anniversary Festa, which kicked off at various places in Seoul on Monday.

“I used to go to school with Yoon-gi and practice when I was a trainee, but it feels amazing and nostalgic that I’m here to celebrate our 10th anniversary with a festival like this,” he said during the talk session held at Han River Park in Seoul’s Yeouido area.

“Kim Nam-joon” in the title is the original Korean name of the BTS member, while Min Yoon-gi is Suga’s real name.

About 3,000 members of the band’s dedicated fandom, ARMY, chosen in a lottery, attended the event, while other fans enjoyed the show on a large screen set up at the festival venue.

The rapper read the stories of selected fans during the talk session, assuming the role of a radio DJ.

While introducing the story of a fan who said she became a BTS fan as a middle school student and is now a company worker, RM said: “I thank you for being with BTS throughout your journey from being a student to becoming a working professional. Believing there are many fans like this, I will live on as an admirable working professional.”

The singer known for his fluent English speaking skills also shared his experience related to the language.

“I would not have studied English so diligently if I had not become a member of BTS,” he said.

“When I was first abruptly told by the agency to do a live interview, I was bewildered,” he said, reminiscing about the early years in his career. “But there is a saying that office changes manners. I came to speak English to some extent as I struggled to try to reach out to as many people as possible.”

He then expressed thanks to ARMYs learning the Korean language diligently to better understand BTS songs.

“I heard there are many ARMYs who are working hard to learn Korean, eager to understand what we (BTS members) are saying and what we want to say through the lyrics of our songs,” he said. “It’s not easy to learn a language, is it? I’m grateful and touched that you are studying the language with a pure heart of loving us.”

The rapper performed “Intro: Persona,” a BTS song, and “Wild Flower,” the lead track of his solo debut album, during the show.

All fans who attended the show as well as others outside stood up and enthusiastically waved LED wands known as “ARMY bombs” as if they were actually at a concert.

He also had surprise telephone conversations with bandmates Jungkook and V.

Jungkook, who called from Los Angeles, said: “I’d like to see you. ARMYs, please enjoy yourself.” V expressed his regret for not being able to join the event.

The one-day event at Yeouido Han River Park is the highlight of the two-week-long festival that kicked off Monday.

The event transformed the park into a sea of purple, the color symbolizing the group, as it became crowded with hundreds of thousands of BTS fans donning purple T-shirts, bags, hats or masks.

Additionally, most of the signboards and structures installed there were also adorned in the same hue.

There were long lines of fans waiting under the scorching sun to take selfies in photo zones or against the backdrop of “the BTS history wall” and an exhibition of the group’s stage costumes.

Also popular was a booth where fans can get a hands-on experience with tattoo stickers bearing titles of the band’s hit songs and meaningful phrases related to the group.

Later in the night, a breathtaking fireworks display served as a grand finale of the event, accompanied by BTS songs and narration from Jungkook.

Source: Yonhap News Agency