More than 40 comics artists from Taiwan and other East Asian nations, including Japan, mainland China and South Korea, will take part in the Planete Manga festival set to open Feb. 11 at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France. Among the Taiwanese comics authors participating in the event will be Chiu Row-long, whose comics about the 1930 aboriginal Wushe Incident inspired last year’s epic film “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” by director Wei Te-sheng, which will be screened April 22 at the center. Taiwanese animated films to be shown include several works recommended by Taiwanese comics expert Hsieh Pei-wen, as well as the classic animated feature “Grandma and Her Ghost,” released in the late 1990s. The festival will run through May 27.
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council is slated to lead a delegation of representatives of 16 local solar companies to take part in the Fifth International Photovoltaic Power Generation Expo in Tokyo, Japan, from Feb. 29 to March 2. The event, also known as the PV Expo 2012, is a leader in the solar energy field in terms of business-to-business contact opportunities. This year’s expo is expected to draw some 750 leading solar companies from around the world, as well as roughly 120,000 expert buyers.
Migrant workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam planning to work in Taiwan will be required beginning March 1 to be fingerprinted at Taiwan liaison offices in their home countries as part of the standard process for obtaining long-term residency in Taiwan, Thomas J.C. Chen, director-general of the Bureau of Consular Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Feb. 5. The new measure will be implemented for a two-month trial run before being reviewed, Chen added.
National Applied Research Laboratories President Chen Wen-hwa said Feb. 5 that the NARL will work in line with the government’s national science and technology development policy by continuing to pursue five major policy directions in 2012 related to the people’s welfare and economic development. The policy guidelines include developing disaster prevention technology, promoting independent space research and related technology, supporting national marine surveys and research, establishing a cloud computing platform for science and research, and promoting nano device technology R&D. Technological support will also be provided to assist in the development of domestic industries, Chen added. (SB)