Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun met with an international panel of cultural professionals in a week-long program this June to discuss promoting deeper understanding between Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

The 2018 Tang Prize winners in the sustainable development and biopharmaceutical science categories were announced June 18 and 19, respectively, with James E. Hansen and Veerabhadran Ramanathan sharing the former award for their revolutionary climate change research and Brian J. Druker, Tony Hunter and John Mendelsohn picking up the latter for breakthroughs in targeted cancer therapies.

The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum is the most significant recent addition to Taiwan’s cultural landscape. Opening its doors in December 2015 following more than a decade of planning and construction, the institution in Chiayi County’s Taibao City has received nearly 3 million visitors.

US Assistant Secretary of State Marie Royce met with Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun to discuss advancing US-Taiwan cultural exchanges during Assistant Secretary Royce's visit to Taipei for the opening of the American Institute in Taiwan's new office complex.

The 2018 NCKU World Islam Campus Summit concluded Thursday with a call for university faculty, staff and students to respect and promote Islamic-friendly, inclusive, welcoming, and culturally diverse environments.

The 2018 advisory meeting of the Global Environmental Education Partnership wrapped up June 1 in Taipei City, with some 30 officials and experts from 14 countries discussing issues spanning circular economy, talent cultivation and collaboration among nongovernmental groups across the Asia-Pacific.

Taiwan ranks 17th in the World Competitiveness Yearbook published May 24 by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development.

Taipei City-based National Palace Museum was the 13th most visited worldwide in 2017, according to the Theme Index and Museum Index released May 17 by U.S.-headquartered project management firm AECOM and nonprofit industry group Themed Entertainment Association.

Feng Ai-ling moved to India in 2012 to teach Mandarin in the newly opened Taiwan Education Center at Amity University. During her initial year at the private tertiary institution in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi, she and three colleagues delivered lessons to some 300 students. In the time since, interest in learning the language has soared, with more than 700 people signing up for classes in 2017, Feng said.

Taiwan students won four gold, one silver and three bronze medals to tie for third place at the 19th Asian Physics Olympiad May 5-13 in Hanoi.