title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Director Vincenzo Natali did not have confidence in financing a film. He cost-reduced his pitch with a single set reused as many, with the actors moving around a virtual maze. As the most expensive element, a set with a cube and a half was built off the floor, to allow the surroundings to be lit from behind all walls of the cube. In 1990, Natali had had the idea to make a film "set entirely in hell", but in 1994 while working as a storyboard artist's assistant at Canada's Nelvana animation studio, he completed the first script for "Cube". The initial draft had a more comedic tone, surreal images, a cannibal, edible moss growing on the walls, and a monster that roamed the Cube. Roommate and childhood filmmaking partner Andre Bijelic helped Natali strip the central idea to its essence of people avoiding deadly traps in a maze. Scenes outside the cube were deleted, and the identity of the victims changed. In some drafts, they were accountants and in others criminals, with the implication that their banishment to the Cube was part of a penal sentence. One of the most important dramatic changes was the removal of food and water for a more urgent escape.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: After writing "Cube", Natali developed the short film, "Elevated". It is set in an elevator to show investors how "Cube" would hypothetically look and feel. Cinematographer Derek Rogers developed strategies for shooting in the tightly confined elevator, which he later reused on a Toronto soundstage for "Cube".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Casting started with Natali's friends, and budget limitations allowed for only one day of script reading prior to shooting. As it was filmed relatively quickly with well prepared actors, there are no known outtake clips.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: The film was shot in Toronto, Ontario in 21 days, with 50% of the budget as C$350,000 to C$375,000 in cash and the other 50% as donated services, for a total of C$700,000. Natali considered the cash figure to be deceptive, because they deferred payment on goods and services, and got the special effects at no cost.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: The set's warehouse was near a train line, and its noise was incorporated into the film as that of the cubes moving. To change the look of each room, some scenes were shot with wide lens, and others are long lens and lit with different colors, for the illusion of traversing a maze. Nicole de Boer said that the white room was more comforting to actors at the start of a day's filming, compared to the red room which induced psychological effects on the cast during several hours in the confined space.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: The Cube was conceived by mathematician David W. Pravica, who was the math consultant. It consists of an outer cubical shell or sarcophagus, and the inner cube rooms. Each side of the outer shell is long. The inner cube consists of 26 = 17,576 cubical rooms (minus an unknown number of rooms to allow for movement), each having a side length of . A space of is between the inner cube and the outer shell. Each room is labelled with three identification numbers such as "517 478 565". These numbers encode the starting coordinates of the room and the X, Y, and Z coordinates are the sums of the digits of the first, second, and third number, respectively. The numbers also determine the movement of the room. The subsequent positions are obtained by cyclically subtracting the digits from one another, and the resulting numbers are then successively added to the starting numbers.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Only one cube set was actually built, with each of its sides measuring in length, with only one working door that could actually support the weight of the actors. The colour of the room was changed by sliding panels. This time-consuming procedure determined that the film was not shot in sequence, and all shots taking place in rooms of a specific color were shot separately. Six colors of rooms were intended to match the recurring theme of six throughout the film; five sets of gel panels, plus pure white. However, the budget did not stretch to the sixth gel panel, and so the film has only five room colors. Another partial cube was made for shots requiring the point of view of standing in one room and looking into another.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: The small set created technical problems for hosting a 30-person crew and a 6-person cast, becoming "a weird fusion between sci-fi and the guerrilla-style approach to filmmaking".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: During post production, Natali spent months "on the aural environment", including appropriate sound effects of each room, so the Cube feels like a haunted house.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: "Cube" was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 1997 and released in Ottawa and Montreal on 18 September. A theatrical release occurred in Spain in early 1999, while in Italy a release was scheduled for July 1999 and an opening in Germany was set for later that year. In the Japanese market, it became the top video rental at the time, and exceeded expectations, with co-writer Graeme Manson suggesting people in Japan had a better understanding of living in boxes so resonated better with the Japanese audience, as they were likely "more receptive to the whole metaphor underlying the film".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: In its home country of Canada, the film was a commercial failure, lasting only a few days in Canadian theatres. French film distributor Samuel Hadida's company Metropolitan Filmexport saw potential in the film and spent $1.2 million in a marketing campaign, posting flyers in many cities and flying members of the cast over to France to meet moviegoers. At its peak, the film was shown at 220 French box offices and became among the most popular films in France of that time, collecting over $10 million in box office receipts. It went on to be the second-highest grossing film in France that summer.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Elsewhere internationally, the film grossed $501,818 in the United States, and $8,479,845 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $8,981,663.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Cube" holds an approval rating of 64%, based on 39 reviews, and an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: ""Cube" sometimes struggles with where to take its intriguing premise, but gripping pace and an impressive intelligence make it hard to turn away". On Metacritic, the film has a score 61 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Bob Graham of the "San Francisco Chronicle" was highly critical: "If writer-director Vincenzo Natali, storyboard artist for Keanu Reeves's "Johnny Mnemonic", were as comfortable with dialogue and dramatizing characters as he is with images, this first feature of his might have worked better". Nick Schager from "Slant Magazine" rated the film three out of five stars, noting that, its intriguing premise and initially chilling mood were undone by threadbare characterizations, and lack of a satisfying explanation for the cube's existence. He concluded the film "winds up going nowhere fast".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: Anita Gates of "The New York Times" was more positive, saying the story "proves surprisingly gripping, in the best "Twilight Zone" tradition. The ensemble cast does an outstanding job on the cinematic equivalent of a bare stage... Everyone has his or her own theory about who is behind this peculiar imprisonment... The weakness in "Cube" is the dialogue, which sometimes turns remarkably trite... The strength is the film's understated but real tension. Vincenzo Natali, the film's fledgling director and co-writer, has delivered an allegory, too, about futility, about the necessity and certain betrayal of trust, about human beings who do not for a second have the luxury of doing nothing". Bloody Disgusting gave a positive review: "Shoddy acting and a semi-weak script can't hold this movie back. It's simply too good a premise and too well-directed to let minor hindrances derail its creepy premise". Kim Newman from Empire Online gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "Too many low-budget sci-fi films try for epic scope and fail; this one concentrates on making the best of what it's got and does it well".


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: The film won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and the Jury Award at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: After "Cube" achieved cult status, it was followed by a sequel, "", released in 2002, and a prequel, "Cube Zero", released in 2004.


title: Cube (1997 film)

text: In April 2015, "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that Lionsgate Films was planning to remake the film, titled "Cubed", with Saman Kesh directing, Roy Lee and Jon Spaihts producing and a screenplay by Philip Gawthorne, based on Kesh’s original take.


title: TV Brasil

text: TV Brasil is a Brazilian public television network owned by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. Its main headquarters are in Brasília, DF and Rio de Janeiro, RJ, with owned-and-operated stations in São Paulo, SP and in São Luís, MA, as well as 21 states where its affiliated broadcasters operate, all components of the Rede Pública de Televisão.


title: TV Brasil

text: TV Brasil originated from a decree which created Empresa Brasil de Comunicação, the network's maintainer, published on 24 December 2007 in the "Diário Oficial da União", Brazil's official gazette. It was generated from the fusion of Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação - Radiobrás and Associação de Comunicação Educativa Roquette Pinto, responsible for the maintenance of the now defunct TVE Brasil - which was replaced by TV Brasil in several cities. The lack of equipment restricted TV Brasil's launching to only three cities (Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Luís). Its programming, however, is also available through its official website and cable and satellite television.


title: TV Brasil

text: TV Brasil affiliated stations broadcast four hours a day of regional programing. It also broadcast Brazilian films and programs made by other public television channels. The programming of is divided into five daily streams: children, animation, audio-visual, citizenship and sports.


title: TV Brasil

text: Franklin Martins, Secretary of Social Communication, has commented that TV Brasil's programming is not yet fully prepared and may suffer from late changes. Martins also said he wished to use public opinion polls to determine the programming.


title: TV Brasil

text: Among self-owned and affiliated stations, TV Brasil reaches over 30 municipalities throughout all regions of Brazil. On the rest of the country, TV Brasil's availability is limited to satellite and cable television. Its live programming can also be watched on the network's official website.


title: Ravenna

text: Ravenna ( , , ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Byzantine Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the last exarch was executed by the Lombards in 751.


title: Ravenna

text: Although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna".


title: Ravenna

text: The origin of the name "Ravenna" is unclear. Some have speculated that "Ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (or "Rasna"), the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point.


title: Ravenna

text: The origins of Ravenna are uncertain. However, the oldest archaeological evidence found allows us to date the Umbri presence in Ravenna at least to the 5th century BC, where they remained undisturbed until the 3rd century BC, when the first contacts with Roman civilization began to take place. Its territory was settled also by the Senones, especially the southern countryside of the city (that wasn't part of the lagoon), the "Ager Decimanus". Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the Po River Delta, but later accepted it into the Roman Republic as a federated town in 89 BC.


title: Ravenna

text: In 49 BC, it was where Julius Caesar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon. Later Octavian, after his battle against Mark Antony in 31 BC, founded the military harbor of Classis. This harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages. During the Germanic campaigns, Thusnelda, widow of Arminius, and Marbod, King of the Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna.


title: Ravenna

text: Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule. Emperor Trajan built a long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the Marcomannic Wars, Germanic settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city. For this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. In AD 408, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Rome to Ravenna; it subsequently served as the capital of the empire for most of the 5th century and the last de facto western emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed here in AD 476. At that time it was home to 50,000 people. The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible (although in fact the city fell to opposing forces numerous times in its history); it is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to the Eastern Roman Empire. However, in 409, King Alaric I of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, and went on to sack Rome in 410 and to take Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I, hostage.


title: Ravenna

text: After many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III, due to the support of her nephew Theodosius II. Ravenna enjoyed a period of peace, during which time the Christian religion was favoured by the imperial court, and the city gained some of its most famous monuments, including the Orthodox Baptistry, the misnamed Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (she was not actually buried there), and San Giovanni Evangelista.


title: Ravenna

text: The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, and Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476 by the general Odoacer. Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theodoric, until the taking of Rimini deprived Ravenna of supplies. Theodoric took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Theodoric, following his imperial predecessors, also built many splendid buildings in and around Ravenna, including his palace church Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, an Arian cathedral (now Santo Spirito) and Baptistery, and his own Mausoleum just outside the walls.


title: Ravenna

text: Both Odoacer and Theodoric and their followers were Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, who were largely Catholic Orthodox. Ravenna's Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Cappella Arcivescovile. Theodoric allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense.


title: Ravenna

text: Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his young grandson Athalaric under the authority of his daughter Amalasunta, but by 535 both were dead and Theodoric's line was represented only by Amalasuntha's daughter Matasuntha. Various Ostrogothic military leaders took the Kingdom of Italy, but none were as successful as Theodoric had been. Meanwhile, the orthodox Christian Byzantine Emperor Justinian I opposed both Ostrogoth rule and the Arian variety of Christianity. In 535 his general Belisarius invaded Italy and in 540 conquered Ravenna. After the conquest of Italy was completed in 554, Ravenna became the seat of Byzantine government in Italy.


title: Ravenna

text: From 540 to 600, Ravenna's bishops embarked upon a notable building program of churches in Ravenna and in and around the port city of Classe. Surviving monuments include the Basilica of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, as well as the partially surviving San Michele in Africisco.


title: Ravenna

text: Following the conquests of Belisarius for Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century, Ravenna became the seat of the Byzantine governor of Italy, the Exarch, and was known as the Exarchate of Ravenna. It was at this time that the Ravenna Cosmography was written.


title: Ravenna

text: Under Byzantine rule, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ravenna was temporarily granted autocephaly from the Roman Church by the emperor, in 666, but this was soon revoked. Nevertheless, the archbishop of Ravenna held the second place in Italy after the pope, and played an important role in many theological controversies during this period.


title: Ravenna

text: The Lombards, under King Liutprand, occupied Ravenna in 712, but were forced to return it to the Byzantines. However, in 751 the Lombard king, Aistulf, succeeded in conquering Ravenna, thus ending Byzantine rule in northern Italy.


title: Ravenna

text: King Pepin of the Franks attacked the Lombards under orders of Pope Stephen II. Ravenna then gradually came under the direct authority of the Popes, although this was contested by the archbishops at various times. Pope Adrian I authorized Charlemagne to take away anything from Ravenna that he liked, and an unknown quantity of Roman columns, mosaics, statues, and other portable items were taken north to enrich his capital of Aachen.


title: Ravenna

text: In 1198 Ravenna led a league of Romagna cities against the Emperor, and the Pope was able to subdue it. After the war of 1218 the Traversari family was able to impose its rule in the city, which lasted until 1240. After a short period under an Imperial vicar, Ravenna was returned to the Papal States in 1248 and again to the Traversari until, in 1275, the Da Polenta established their long-lasting seigniory. One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled Florentine poet Dante. The last of the Da Polenta, Ostasio III, was ousted by the Republic of Venice in February 1441, and the city was annexed to the Venetian territories in the Treaty of Cremona.


title: Ravenna

text: Ravenna was ruled by Venice until 1509, when the area was invaded in the course of the Italian Wars. In 1512, during the Holy League wars, Ravenna was sacked by the French following the Battle of Ravenna. Ravenna was also known during the Renaissance as the birthplace of the Monster of Ravenna.


title: Ravenna

text: After the Venetian withdrawal, Ravenna was again ruled by legates of the Pope as part of the Papal States. The city was damaged in a tremendous flood in May 1636. Over the next 300 years, a network of canals diverted nearby rivers and drained nearby swamps, thus reducing the possibility of flooding and creating a large belt of agricultural land around the city.


title: Ravenna

text: Apart from another short occupation by Venice (1527–1529), Ravenna was part of the Papal States until 1796, when it was annexed to the French puppet state of the Cisalpine Republic, (Italian Republic from 1802, and Kingdom of Italy from 1805). It was returned to the Papal States in 1814. Occupied by Piedmontese troops in 1859, Ravenna and the surrounding Romagna area became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861.


title: Ravenna

text: During World War II, troops of 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards - 5th Canadian Armoured Division and the British 27th Lancers entered and liberated Ravenna on 5 December 1944. A total of 937 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the winter of 1944-45 are buried in Ravenna War Cemetery, including 438 Canadians. The town suffered very little damage.


title: Ravenna

text: The city annually hosts the Ravenna Festival, one of Italy's prominent classical music gatherings. Opera performances are held at the Teatro Alighieri while concerts take place at the Palazzo Mauro de André as well as in the ancient Basilica of San Vitale and Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti, a longtime resident of the city, regularly participates in the festival, which invites orchestras and other performers from around the world.


title: Ravenna

text: Michelangelo Antonioni filmed his 1964 movie "Red Desert" ("Deserto Rosso") within the industrialised areas of the Pialassa valley.


title: Ravenna

text: Ravenna railway station has direct Trenitalia service to Bologna, Ferrara, Lecce, Milan, Parma, Rimini, and Verona.


title: Ravenna

text: Ravenna Airport is located in Ravenna. The nearest commercial airports are those of Forlì, Rimini and Bologna.


title: Ravenna

text: Freeways crossing Ravenna include: A14-bis from the hub of Bologna; on the north–south axis of EU routes E45 (from Rome) and E55 (SS-309 "Romea" from Venice); and on the regional Ferrara-Rimini axis of SS-16 (partially called "Adriatica").


title: Ravenna

text: The traditional football club of the city is Ravenna F.C. Currently it plays in the third tier of Italian football, Serie C.


title: Ravenna

text: A.P.D. Ribelle 1927 is the football club of Castiglione di Ravenna, a town to the south of Ravenna and was founded in 1927. Currently it plays in Italy's Serie D after promotion from Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna Girone B in the 2013–14 season. The president is Marcello Missiroli and the manager is Enrico Zaccaroni. Its home ground is "Stadio Massimo Sbrighi" with 1,000 seats. The team's colors are white and blue.


title: Spinach

text: Spinach ("Spinacia oleracea") is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fresh, or after storage using preservation techniques by canning, freezing, or dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming.


title: Spinach

text: It is an annual plant (rarely biennial), growing as tall as . Spinach may overwinter in temperate regions. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, and very variable in size: long and broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, in diameter, and mature into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster across containing several seeds.


title: Spinach

text: In 2018, world production of spinach was 26.3 million tonnes, with China alone accounting for 90% of the total.


title: Spinach

text: Originally from Persian "aspānāḵ", entering into the European languages by way of Latin, which received it from Arabic.


title: Spinach

text: The Hindi word “Palak” also has its roots in Persian. The English word "spinach" dates to the late 14th century from "espinache" (French: "épinard").


title: Spinach

text: Common spinach ("S. oleracea") was long considered to be in the family Chenopodiaceae, but in 2003 that family was merged into the Amaranthaceae in the order Caryophyllales. Within the family Amaranthaceae "sensu lato", Spinach belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae.


title: Spinach

text: Raw spinach is 91% water, 4% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains negligible fat. In a serving providing only 23 calories, spinach has a high nutritional value, especially when fresh, frozen, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, iron and folate. Spinach is a moderate source (10-19% of DV) of the B vitamins, riboflavin and vitamin B, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber (table). Although spinach is touted as being high in iron and calcium content, and is often served and consumed in its raw form, raw spinach contains high levels of oxalates, which block absorption of calcium and iron in the stomach and small intestine. Spinach cooked in several changes of water has much lower levels of oxalates and is better digested and its nutrients absorbed more completely. In addition to preventing absorption and use, high levels of oxalates remove iron from the body.


title: Spinach

text: A quantity of 100 g of spinach contains over four times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K (table). For this reason, individuals taking the anticoagulant warfarin – which acts by inhibiting vitamin K – are instructed to minimize consumption of spinach (as well as other dark green leafy vegetables) to avoid blunting the effect of warfarin.


title: Spinach

text: Spinach is thought to have originated about 2,000 years ago in ancient Persia from which it was introduced to India and ancient China via Nepal in 647 AD as the "Persian vegetable". In AD 827, the Saracens introduced spinach to Sicily. The first written evidence of spinach in the Mediterranean was recorded in three 10th-century works: a medical work by al-Rāzī (known as Rhazes in the West) and in two agricultural treatises, one by Ibn Waḥshīyah and the other by Qusṭus al-Rūmī. Spinach became a popular vegetable in the Arab Mediterranean and arrived in Spain by the latter part of the 12th century, where Ibn al-ʻAwwām called it "", 'the chieftain of leafy greens'. Spinach was also the subject of a special treatise in the 11th century by Ibn Ḥajjāj.


title: Spinach

text: Spinach first appeared in England and France in the 14th century, probably via Spain, and gained common use because it appeared in early spring when fresh local vegetables were not available. Spinach is mentioned in the first known English cookbook, the "Forme of Cury" (1390), where it is referred to as 'spinnedge' and 'spynoches'. During World War I, wine fortified with spinach juice was given to injured French soldiers with the intent to curtail their bleeding.


title: Spinach

text: In 2020, world production of spinach was 31.0 million tonnes, with China alone accounting for 92% of the total.


title: Spinach

text: Fresh spinach is sold loose, bunched, or packaged fresh in bags. Fresh spinach loses much of its nutritional value with storage of more than a few days. Fresh spinach is packaged in air, or in nitrogen gas to extend shelf life. While refrigeration slows this effect to about eight days, fresh spinach loses most of its folate and carotenoid content over this period of time. For longer storage, it is canned, or blanched or cooked and frozen.


title: Spinach

text: Some packaged spinach is exposed to radiation to kill any harmful bacteria. The Food and Drug Administration approves of irradiation of spinach leaves up to 4.0 kilograys, having no or only a minor effect on nutrient content.


title: Spinach

text: Spinach may be high in cadmium contamination depending on the soil and location where the spinach is grown.


title: Spinach

text: The comics and cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man is portrayed as gaining strength by consuming canned spinach. The accompanying song lyric is: "I'm strong to the finich (sic), 'cuz I eats my spinach." This is usually attributed to the iron content of spinach, but in a 1932 strip, Popeye states that "spinach is full of vitamin A" and that's what makes people strong and healthy.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in "Father Ted" (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in "My Hero" (2000–2005), and DI Jack Mooney in "Death in Paradise" (2017–2020). His novel "The Talk of the Town" was published in 1998.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon was born on 8 October 1965 in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, the son of Fianna Fáil TD and physician Rory O'Hanlon and Teresa (née Ward). He is the third of six children, and has three brothers and two sisters. The episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" which aired on 6 October 2008 revealed that O'Hanlon's paternal grandfather, Michael O'Hanlon, was a medical student at University College Dublin who had joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence and was a member of Michael Collins's Squad, which assassinated British secret service agents on the morning of Bloody Sunday. Details of his grandfather's activities survive in UCD Archives, as well as Blackrock College. It also transpired that, on his mother's side, he is a close relative of Peter Fenelon Collier.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon was schooled in Blackrock College in Dublin and graduated, in 1987, from the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin (now Dublin City University), with a degree in Communications Studies.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: Together with Kevin Gildea and Barry Murphy, O'Hanlon founded the International Comedy Cellar, upstairs in the International Bar on Dublin's South Wicklow Street. Dublin had no comedy scene at the time. As a stand up, O'Hanlon won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1994. For a time he was the presenter of "The Stand Up Show".


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: He was spotted by Graham Linehan, who was to cast him as Father Dougal McGuire in "Father Ted" (1995–98). During filming, O’Hanlon went to buy shoes. Still being in costume, the seller thought he was a real priest and offered the footwear for free. In 1995 he received the Top TV Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards for this role. In 1995, he appeared (as Father Dougal) in a Channel 4 ident ("Hello, you're watching ... television"), and during Comic Relief on BBC1. This was followed by the award-winning short comedy film "Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll". In a 2019 interview, O'Hanlon admitted that he had attempted to distance himself from "Father Ted" once the show had finished.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon moved into straight acting alongside Emma Fielding and Beth Goddard in the ITV comedy-drama "Big Bad World", which aired for two series in summer 1999 and winter 2001. He also played a minor role in "The Butcher Boy" as Joe's (Francie's best friend) father, and appeared in an episode of the original "Whose Line is it Anyway?".


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: In 2000, O'Hanlon starred in the comedy series "My Hero", in which he played a very naive superhero from the planet Ultron. His character juggled world-saving heroics with life in suburbia. He stayed in the role until the first episode of series 6 in July 2006, when he was replaced by James Dreyfus during the same episode.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon also provided the voice of the lead character in the three Christmas television cartoon specials of "Robbie the Reindeer". He appeared in the 2005 BBC One sitcom "Blessed", written by Ben Elton; at the 2005 British Comedy Awards, it was publicly slated by Jonathan Ross, albeit in jest. Towards the end of 2005, he played an eccentric Scottish character, Coconut Tam, in the family based film, "The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby". He has also appeared on radio, including an appearance on "Quote... Unquote" on BBC Radio 4 on 18 July 2011. Appropriately, one of his questions concerned a quotation from "Father Ted". In 2015 he appeared as incompetent angel Smallbone in the sitcom "The Best Laid Plans", on the same channel.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: In 2006, O'Hanlon wrote and presented an RTÉ television series called "Leagues Apart", which saw him investigate the biggest and most passionate football rivalries in a number of European countries. Included were Roma vs Lazio in Italy, Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spain, and Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce in Turkey. He followed this with another RTÉ show, "So You Want To Be Taoiseach?" in 2007. It was a political series in which O'Hanlon gave tongue-in-cheek advice on how to go about becoming Taoiseach of Ireland.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: He appeared in the "Doctor Who" episode "Gridlock", broadcast on 14 April 2007, in which he played a catlike creature named Thomas Kincade Brannigan. O'Hanlon appears in Series 3 of the TV show "Skins", playing Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless)'s Politics teacher named Kieran, who attempted to kiss her. He then went on to form a relationship with Naomi's mother (Olivia Colman). O'Hanlon plays the lead role in Irish comedy television programme "Val Falvey, TD" on RTÉ One. He has recently performed in the Edinburgh Fringe.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: In February 2011, O'Hanlon returned to the Gate Theatre, Dublin starring in the Irish premiere of Christopher Hampton's translation of Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage", alongside Maura Tierney. Later that year, he appeared in the comedy panel show "Argumental".


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon has written a novel, "The Talk of the Town" (known in the United States as "Knick Knack Paddy Whack"), which was published in 1998. The novel is about a teenage boy, Patrick Scully, and his friends.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: In February 2015 he officially launched the 2015 Sky Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, which took place in Kilkenny from 28 May–1 June. In 2015 he played the role of Peter the Milkman in the Sky One sitcom "After Hours".


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: On 2 February 2017, it was announced he would play the lead role in the BBC crime drama "Death in Paradise" taking the role of DI Jack Mooney following Kris Marshall's departure the same day. He announced his intention to leave the series in early 2020 and was replaced by Ralf Little.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: On 25 November 2021, it was announced that he would participate in series 13 of "Taskmaster". He finished in 4th place ahead of Judi Love.


title: Ardal O'Hanlon

text: O'Hanlon met his wife Melanie as a teenager. They have three children. He is a supporter of Leeds United.


title: Loretta Devine

text: Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls", the long-suffering Gloria Matthews in the film "Waiting to Exhale", and her recurring role as Adele Webber on the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy", for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011.


title: Loretta Devine

text: Loretta Devine was born in Houston, Texas, on August 21, 1949. She grew up in the Acres Homes area of Houston, where her mother was a single mother to six children. She was very active on the pep squad, and performed in talent shows at George Washington Carver High School.


title: Loretta Devine

text: In 1971, Devine graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama. In 1976, she received a Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Brandeis University.


title: Loretta Devine

text: Devine has worked extensively on Broadway. Her Broadway debut was in 1978 in a musical called "A Broadway Musical", which closed after 14 previews and only one performance on December 21, 1978. She captured attention in her second Broadway show, called "Comin' Uptown," which featured Gregory Hines.


title: Loretta Devine

text: She rose to stardom in "Dreamgirls", a smash 1981 Broadway musical loosely based on the history of The Supremes, in which she originated the role of Lorrell Robinson (a fictional character based on Mary Wilson). The story of "Dreamgirls" was created during workshops that were carried out in six-week workshops over the period of three years, which Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Jennifer Holliday developed via improv. She also received raves in the 1995 Apollo revival of "The Wiz" as Glinda the Good Witch of the South.


title: Loretta Devine

text: While rehearsing for "Dreamgirls" with a little girl in 1981, Devine was cast in Jessie Maple's "Will", the first independent feature-length film directed by an African-American woman. For her featured role in the low-budget film, Devine earned $500.


title: Loretta Devine

text: Minor roles for Devine followed in films such as "Little Nikita" and "Stanley & Iris". She has a cameo performance in the film version of "Dreamgirls".


title: Loretta Devine

text: In 1995, she landed a major role as Gloria Matthews in "Waiting to Exhale", opposite Whitney Houston, Gregory Hines, and Angela Bassett. The role earned her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, as did her next movie, "The Preacher's Wife", her second movie with Houston and Hines. She later co-starred opposite Alfre Woodard in "Down in the Delta" (1998) and "Funny Valentines" (1999).


title: Loretta Devine

text: Devine played roles as a repertory character in the play "The Colored Museum" with Vickilyn Reynolds. Devine and Reynolds both went on to play sisters in the short-lived TV series "Sugar and Spice". During the period between the play and the series, Devine appeared in the first season of the TV series "A Different World" as Stevie Rallen, a dormitory director at the fictional Hillman College.


title: Loretta Devine

text: From 2000 to 2004, Devine starred as high school teacher Marla Hendricks on the Fox drama series "Boston Public". Devine won three more Image Awards for her work in the series. She also continued to work in film, playing prominent roles in "Urban Legend", "", and "I Am Sam". Devine earned yet another Image Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in the 2004 film "Woman Thou Art Loosed". She also appeared in the 2005 film "Crash". In 2007, she appeared in "This Christmas", and in the next year had a series regular role on the ABC comedy-drama "Eli Stone". Devine also was part of the ensemble casts of two Tyler Perry-directed films "For Colored Girls" and "Madea's Big Happy Family". In 2008, she was featured prominently on George Michael's remake of "Feeling Good." She also appeared in "First Sunday", "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Jumping the Broom".


title: Loretta Devine

text: Devine had a recurring role in the Shonda Rhimes drama series "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Richard Webber's first wife, Adele. In 2011 she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance. She was nominated for a second time for her performance in 2012. Devine also won Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Feature Role for "Grey's Anatomy" in 2012.


title: Loretta Devine

text: In 2011, she also starred on the short-lived ABC Family comedy "State of Georgia". In 2012, she was part of "Being Mary Jane" cast. She also voiced the character Hallie, on the Disney Junior series "Doc McStuffins". Later that year she began starring in the Lifetime series "The Client List", playing the role of Georgia Cummings, the owner of the massage parlor where the lead character Riley Parks works. The series was canceled after two seasons. Devine also played Cynthia Carmichael on the NBC sitcom "The Carmichael Show". Devine currently stars on the Netflix series, "Family Reunion", with Richard Roundtree and Tia Mowry-Hardrict.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based in Taiwan. The ROCAF was founded in 1920 by the Kuomintang. While its historical name is sometimes used especially in domestic circles, it is not used as often internationally due to the current ambiguous political status of Taiwan and to avoid confusion with the People's Liberation Army Air Force of the People's Republic of China (PRC).


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Its primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around the Taiwan area. Priorities of the ROCAF include the development of long range reconnaissance and surveillance networks, integrating C4ISTAR systems to increase battle effectiveness, procuring counterstrike weapons, next generation fighters, and hardening airfields and other facilities to survive a surprise attack.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In May 2005, the Ministry of National Defense indicated its intention to transfer command of all defensive missile systems to the ROCAF, while future offensive missiles would be placed under a newly formed missile command. As of 2006, all medium and long range SAM units were transferred from ROC Army's Missile Command to ROCAF, while ROCAF's airbase security units were transferred to ROC Army Military Police. However, it was revealed that in January 2011, five years of problems of integrating those long range ex-ROC Army SAM units into ROCAF has forced ROCAF high command to return those units back to ROC Army's Missile Command. Missile Command is now directly under Defense Ministry's GHQ control.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In July 2010, former United States Air Force deputy under secretary for international affairs, Bruce Lemkin, said that Taiwan's ability to defend its airspace had degraded due to its aging fighters and that the sale of new US fighter aircraft to Taiwan was an urgent priority. However, the ROC Air Force has trouble getting fighter planes from abroad due to mainland China's attempts to suppress fighter sales from any country. The People's Republic of China has called the F-16 fighter or any foreign fighter sales a "red line". It is believed that mainland China plans to eliminate the ROC Air Force by preventing any sale of new aircraft whilst gradually wearing its ageing fighters into an inoperable state as they have to frequently intercept PLAAF aircraft who perform almost daily approaches to ROC airspace. According to the former Republic of China's defense minister, Yen Teh-fa, the People's Republic of China sends about 2,000 bomber patrols per year to the Taiwan Strait separating Taiwan and the Chinese mainland These patrols significantly increased since 2019 and now routinely crosses the median line in Taiwan's air defense zones, causing the scrambling of fighters. These air scrambles put heavy strain on ROC airforce aircraft and cost around 9% of Taiwan's national defense budget or about T$25.5 billion ($886.49 million) in 2020 alone.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: ROCAF strategy until some years ago was to use IDF fighters for low altitude interception and ground attack, F-16s for mid-altitude interception and ground attack and Mirage 2000-5s for high altitude interception. Taiwan had to upgrade F-5 fighters due to issues in buying modern fighters. In proposed defense policy, the ROCAF seeks to deny the PLAAF air operations around Taiwan by deploying integrated air defenses, including Patriot PAC-3 batteries and Tian Kung-2 surface to air missiles assigned to defend air bases, and smaller mobile air defense systems to prevent the PLA from providing air support to invading forces.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Like most of the other branches of the ROC armed forces, much of the ROCAF's structure and organization is patterned after the United States Air Force. Like the USAF, the ROCAF used to have a wing → group → squadron structure. After November 2004, tactical fighter wing switch to wing → Tactical Fighter Group, with some fighter squadrons stood down, with each tactical fighter group, still pretty much the same size as a squadron, now commanded by a full colonel.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The Qing Dynasty had established aircraft operations at the Beijing Nanyuan airfield in 1909, just before the abolishment of their rule following the Double Ten Revolution in 1911, and became the airbase to where the early beginnings of the Republic of China Air Force took shape. In July 1917, Qing loyalist general Zhang Xun led the Manchu Restoration, and then-Premier of the Republic Duan Qirui ordered the bombing of the Forbidden City; the mission was carried out in a Caudron Type D aircraft piloted by Pan Shizhong () and bombardier Du Yuyuan () flying out of Nanyuan airfield, dropping three bombs over the Forbidden City, which caused the fatality of a eunuch, but otherwise inflicted minor damage.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Formally established in 1920 as the Aviation Ministry, the ROCAF was active during the tenure of the ROC on Mainland China. In this period, various airplanes were purchased and deployed by warlords in their struggle for power until nominal Chinese reunification in 1928. The ROCAF immediately dispatched combat aircraft to the Hongqiao Aerodrome during the January 28th Incident of 1932, and aerial skirmishes occurred for the first time between China and the Imperial Japanese. In February 1932, US Reserve Lt. Robert McCawley Short, who was transporting armed Chinese aircraft, shot down an IJN aircraft on February 19, 1932, and downed another on February 22 before he was killed (he was posthumously raised to the rank of colonel in the Chinese Air Service).


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the ROCAF participated in attacks on Japanese warships on the eastern front and along the Yangtze river including support for the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. The Chinese frontline fighter aircraft were initially mainly the Curtiss Hawk IIs and Hawk IIIs (including those license-built locally at the CAMCO plant) and the Boeing P-26 model 281, and engaged Japanese fighters in many major air battles beginning on August 14, 1937, when Imperial Japanese Navy warplanes raided Chienchiao airbase; "814" has thus become known as "Air Force Day". Chinese Boeing P-26/281 fighters engaged Japanese Mitsubishi A5M fighters in what is among the world's first aerial dogfighting between all-metal monoplane fighter aircraft. A unique mission in May 1938 saw two Chinese B-10 bombers fly a mission over Japan, but dropping only propaganda leaflets over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Saga, four years before 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japanese home islands. It was a war of attrition for the Chinese pilots, as many of their most experienced ace fighter pilots, such as Lieutenant and Colonel Kao Chih-hang were lost early in the war. Code breaking operations played a role in the conflict. A Japanese radio intercept unit was attached to the landing forces at Shanghai. IJN Lt. Commander Tsunezo Wachi and a Lt. Yamada, an expert in Chinese codes, enabled Japanese to make preemptive strikes against ROCAF airfields.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: As the War of Resistance raged on after the Fall of Shanghai, Nanking and Taiyuan at the end of 1937, new main battle lines were immediately drawn at the Battle of Wuhan, Battle of Taierzhuang, Battle of Canton, and the ROCAF received its primary support through the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1937, along with the support of the Soviet Volunteer Group, from 1937 to 1939 in return for raw materials.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Following the Japanese invasion of French Indochina, the U.S. enacted an oil and steel embargo against Japan in August 1941, and China was included in the Lend-Lease Act which superseded the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1937. As the Battle of Chonqing-Chengdu continued into 1941 with "Operating 102", the Japanese began preparations for "Operation Z"; the attack plan on Pearl Harbor. In the latter half of the Sino-Japanese War.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: World War II, the ROCAF was augmented by a volunteer group of American pilots (the Flying Tigers whom fought their first combat engagement on 20 December 1941). Throughout the remainder of the war, the ROCAF was involved in attacks on Japanese air and ground forces across the Chinese theatre.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: ROCAF General HQ was established in June 1946. From 1946 to 1948, during the Chinese Civil War, the ROCAF participated in combat against the People's Liberation Army engaging in air-to-air combat on at least eleven occasions in the areas surrounding the Taiwan Strait. The ROCAF reportedly enjoyed a 31:1 kill ratio against the PLA. GHQ was evacuated to Taiwan along with the rest of the ROC Government in April 1949 following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. The ROCAF assisted in halting the PLA advance at the Battle of Kuningtou on Kinmen the same year.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The ROCAF regularly patrolled the Taiwan Straits and fought many engagements with its Communist counterpart (the PLAAF). The ROCAF received second hand equipment from the US at that time, such as the F-86, F-100 and F-104.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: During the Cold War, the ROCAF was involved in combat air patrols over the Taiwan Strait and engaged the PLAAF and PLAN-AF on several occasions. The ROCAF was also the testbed of American technology at this time. The first successful kill scored by an air-to-air missile was accomplished by a ROCAF F-86 Sabre with then experimental AIM-9 Sidewinder. ROCAF pilots also flew U-2 recon overflights of the PRC during this time with assistance from the USAF. Known as the Black Cat Squadron they flew a total of 220 missions, with 102 missions over mainland China, losing 5 aircraft. All five were shot down by SA-2 surface-to-air missiles, the same type of surface-to-air missile that shot down Gary Powers over the USSR in 1960. The 34th "Black Bat Squadron" flew low level missions into China as part of its mapping PRC growing air defense networks, conducting ESM and ECM missions, inserting agents behind enemy lines, and air drop resupply missions.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Starting in November 1967, the ROC secretly operated a cargo transport detachment to assist the US and the ROV as part of its participation in the Vietnam War. It was based on existing formation of the 34th squadron of ROC Air force. The unit's strength included two C-123 cargo aircraft, seven flight officers and two mechanics, even though a higher number of military personnel was involved through rotation. It was tasked with air transportation, airdrop and electronic reconnaissance. Some 25 members of the unit were killed, among them 17 pilots and co-pilots, and three aircraft were lost. Other ROC involvement in Vietnam included a secret listening station, special reconnaissance and raiding squads, military advisers and civilian airline operations (which cost a further two aircraft due to Vietnamese individually operated AA missiles).


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: From 1979 to 1990, the ROCAF engaged in a classified military aid program in the Yemen Arab Republic, known as the Great Desert Program (). The program started after American President Jimmy Carter rushed 14 F-5s to the Yemeni Air Force who had no pilots or ground crew trained to operate the type or even any Western aircraft (they previously operated MiG-15s). The Americans and the Saudis (who were bankrolling the Yemen Arab Republic's military) requested military aid from Taiwan who provided 80 F-5 pilots, ground crews, early warning radars, and anti-aircraft missile batteries. All told more than a thousand ROCAF personnel were deployed to Yemen.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The opposing Air Force of South Yemen was made up of Cuban pilots and maintainers with some Soviet advisors and pilots as well. The ROCAF force were actively involved in combat with the Cubans/Soviets and for all intents and purposes constitutes the Yemen Arab Republic's Air Force during this time. Taiwanese pilots scored a number of kills in Yemen. The program ended in 1990 when Saudi Arabia withdrew its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The transition to democracy was difficult for the ROCAF and the Taiwanese military overall. During the martial law period the military was a pillar of totalitarianism and dictatorship and for this reason was mistrusted by the Taiwanese public. Spending and personnel levels fell from the beginning of democratization until the Tsai Ing-wen administration began increasing military spending in 2016. Efforts have been made to enhance the status of the military in the eyes of the public.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The ROCAF has been under increasing financial and physical pressure due to an increase in PLA Air Force intrusions into Taiwanese airspace and subsequent interception by Taiwanese fighters.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On November 29, 2020, the ROCAF celebrated its 100th birthday. On the event of their 100th birthday Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen commended the "loyal and fearless heroes" of the Air Force and added that "The sound of the roaring engine is our guardian, the voice of democracy and freedom."


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The ROCAF has also taken part in numerous humanitarian operations. Some of the more major ones include the following:


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Current ROCAF inventory includes over 400 combat aircraft, the mainstays being the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter) and F-16 while the Mirage 2000-5 provides the most formidable air-defense capabilities. Older F-5 fighters are gradually being phased out but remain in service.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The United States serves as the ROCAF's main supplier of equipment and also provides training for ROCAF and ROC Navy pilots at Luke AFB in Arizona. This base which is between Phoenix and Tucson has an instrumented flight area for training approximately the size of the State of Connecticut. German Air Force (Luftwaffe) and German Naval Aviation (Marineflieger) who used to train at Luke AFB from 1957 to 1983 now train at NATO facilities at CFB Goose Bay in Canada and also alongside the USAF at Holloman AFB in New Mexico. As of 2019 the US Air Force is assisting the Taiwanese Air Force in sourcing new and surplus F-5 parts.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Prior to 1984, ROCAF fighters were almost exclusively American-made aircraft sold under terms of a mutual defense treaty between the Republic of China and the United States. Development of the F-CK-1 "Ching-kuo" Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) began in 1984 due to U.S. refusal to sell F-20s and F-16s to the ROCAF as a result of changes in national policy between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. After a successful maiden flight in 1989, the domestically produced fighter entered service in 1994. However, the ROCAF was subsequently able to obtain F-16s from the United States as well as Mirage 2000-5 fighters from France, resulting in delays to later IDF development that had been anticipated.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In response to American refusals to supply "smart bombs", Taiwan is developing their own equivalent of the Joint Direct Attack Munition for attacks against the PRC mainland in case of invasion preparations.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Taiwan is looking to replace its current fleet of AT-3 jet trainers and F-5 LIFT planes with 66 advanced trainers. In 2008 the Republic of China Air Force released a request for information (RFI) and two companies including Lockheed Martin for the T-50 and Alenia Aermacchi's M-346 responded to the request. These planes were expected to be license produced in Taiwan with a local partner firm, and the overall estimated contract value was 69 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$2.2 billion). However, after the election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who intends to make Taiwan's defense industry a cornerstone for future development, it was decided to domestically design and build 66 AIDC T-5 Brave Eagle supersonic trainers instead of selecting the T-50 or M-346. The T-5, with a program cost of NT$68.6 billion, will be a new aircraft whose design will draw upon Taiwan's expertise gained by building the domestically produced Indigenous Defense Fighter.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In 2019 the Taiwan Air Force's Air Defense and Missile Command announced a five-year, NT$80b (US$2.54b) project to build up a full force of anti-radiation UAVs made by NCSIST.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In 2021 April 15 NCSIST stated that its development of a next-generation fighter was progressing ahead of schedule and that the overall design and engine production would be completed by 2024.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: One of the first modern jets purchased was the Northrop F-5. In 1974 a total of 308 were purchased but, lacking spare parts, the ROC has been forced to salvage them from inoperable F-5s. Taiwan is considering reusing engines from inoperable F-5s in cruise missiles.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), previously known as Aero Industry Development Center, was founded in 1969 under the authority of the Republic of China Air Force to locally produce spares and military aircraft. It was transferred to Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) in 1983. By 1973 AIDC had built 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs under license.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In 1992 Taiwan purchased 150 F-16A/B fighter jets from the United States. In the same year, 60 Dassault Mirage 2000-5s were ordered. Forty-eight would be single-seat Mirage 2000-5EI interceptors and 12 would be Mirage 2000-5DI trainers. The version of Mirage 2000-EI5 has the mid-air refuel capability and ground attack ability deleted.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On February 28, 2007, the US Defense Department approved an order made by the ROC for 218 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles, as well as 235 AGM-65G2 Maverick missiles, associated launchers and other equipment. The total value of this order was revealed to be US$421 million.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In June 2007, the Legislative Yuan also approved the upgrade of the existing Patriot PAC-2 batteries to PAC-3 standard, and, in November, the Pentagon notified the U.S. Congress of the Patriot upgrade order. On August 10, 2007, a shipment of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, valued at an estimated $125 million, was also authorised by the U.S. Defense Department, including 60 AGM-84L Block II missiles and 50 upgrade kits to bring the ROCAF's existing Harpoons up to Block II, Mark L standard.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On October 3, 2008, arms notifications were sent to Congress concerning, amongst other things, the sale of 330 PAC-3 missiles, four missile batteries, radar sets, ground stations and other equipment valued up to US$3.1 billion, the upgrade of 4 E-2T aircraft to the Hawkeye 2000 standard and US$334 million worth of spare parts for the ROCAF's F-16s, IDFs, F-5E/Fs and C-130s.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Late in January 2010, ROCAF received the first batch of new Sky Sword II BVR missiles ordered from CSIST, believed to have new radar seeker and improved performance from the original version which entered service over 10 years previously. The U.S. government also announced five notifications to Congress for additional arms sales totaling some US$6.39 Billion, under which the ROCAF will receive 3 PAC-3 batteries with 26 launchers and 114 PAC-3 missiles. On February 3, 2010, ROCAF also announced at a Singapore Airshow that it had signed a new contract for 3 EC-225 SAR (Search-And-Rescue) helicopters that was awarded to Eurocopter back in December 2009 for US$111 million, along with options for 17 more EC-225s. On November 26, 2011, the 3 EC-225 C-SAR helicopters were loaded on board an An-124 cargo aircraft and delivered to Chai-yi AB in Taiwan, and should enter service on July 1, 2012.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On August 31, 2010, it was announced for next year's defense budget, ROCAF's "Medium Transport aircraft" plan to replace 12 B-1900 VIP/transport training aircraft, believed to be 6-8+ Lockheed C-27J, has been put on hold and might be axed, due to lack of budget, but will allocate 20+ million US dollars over next 4 years for quick runway repair. Other items mentioned including increases in runways from 3 to 6 at Eastern Taiwan's 3 airbases, moving 2 I-HAWK batteries to Eastern Taiwan to protect those airbases, which will double to 4 batteries, and others. On November 8, 2011, a second pair of E-2T Hawkeye AEW (s/n 2501 and 2502) were loaded on a ship and sent to the US for upgrade to the E-2C 2000 standard. The first pair of E-2T (s/n 2503 and 2504) were sent to the US in June 2010 and returned to Taiwan on December 18, 2011, and will be return to service by end of the year.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On August 15, 2011, the United States again deferred the ROCAF request to purchase 66 new F-16C/Ds but offered an upgrade for ROCAF's older F-16A/Bs to F-16V standard, including AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam AESA radars. Unfortunately, during the upgrade work the F-16A/Bs were found to have rusting issues due to age and Taiwan's climate. The upgrade was to be spread over 12 years, though the Ministry of Defense indicated that it would try to reduce the period.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In November 2011, the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended that new fighters be sold to the ROCAF. Taiwan also baulked at the cost of the radar upgrade, not wanting to be the lead customer paying to develop the V-standard upgrade and also because it will be unable to afford both the upgrade and new fighters, should those be offered. In response to a vote in the US House of Representatives to force sale of C/D models, the ROC MND said that the V-standard upgrade package offered superior capabilities over the C/D model aircraft. Some defense officials said that in light of the PRC's increasing capabilities, only F-35s would be sufficient to defend Taiwan. A Pentagon report corroborated that claim, asserting that the PRC would probably seek to destroy ROCAF airfields in the first stages of any attack, making a STOVL fighter such as the F-35B vital for effective defense.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: In July 2012, Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. and Lockheed Martin announced plans to establish a maintenance and overhaul center to upgrade and maintain the F-16s in place without having to ship them back to the United States. In 2012 a letter of acceptance was agreed on for a US$3.8 billion deal that included the radars, electronic warfare, structural improvements and new weapons. The Air Force received the first upgraded F-16V in 2018.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: On April 10, 2019, Air Force Chief of Staff Liu Jen-yuan stated that the Air Force is asking for a total of 66 new-build F-16Vs from the U.S. to replace its aging and obsolete F-5 fighters. On August 20, 2019, the sale of F-16Vs was approved by the State Department and submitted to Congress for approval. The 66 F-16s will be supplied with 75 General Electric F110 engines and 75 AN/APG-83. They will also have new mission computers, datalinks, electronic warfare systems, and compatibility with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II which Taiwan will equip part of its new F-16s with. The final signing of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of 66 F-16V fighter jets was confirmed on December 21, 2019.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Taiwan faces the threat of Chinese missile strike on its airfields. PLA accurate ballistic missiles and cruise missiles can damage or destroy airfields and aircraft on the ground. Taiwan has hardened key Air Force facilities and built redundancies into critical


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Taiwan Air Force built at least 400 protected revetments in its 9 bases, approximately half of them covered. Underground hangars were built at Chiashan Air Force Base in Hualien that reportedly can protect over half of Taiwan's tactical fighter aircraft. Other underground shelters exist at Chihhang Air Base and perhaps elsewhere. But missiles can target the runways with warheads designed to crater them and so prevent Taiwan's aircraft from taking off.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Taiwan regularly practices dispersing its aircraft from the more vulnerable West coast bases to the East coast. Units are also moved between bases to make it more difficult to know where they might be at any given time. Dummy aircraft are parked on bases and inside shelters to confuse Chinese intelligence. Besides this Taiwan maintains emergency highway strips where planes can land, refuel, rearm and take off in the event that bases are out of service. Each Taiwanese airbase has an engineering unit attached for rapidly repairing runways.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: Taiwan is working to provide additional layers of defenses around military airfields against cruise missiles, antiradiation missiles and small drones, as well as potentially larger threats, such as helicopters and low-flying aircraft. Ground version of Sea Oryx SAM and Phalanx CIWS are being developed and deployed to improve air defense.


title: Republic of China Air Force

text: One of the primary methods of surviving in case of war will be deception and the use of decoy targets. This applies to decoy planes, SAM launchers, radars, etc. Decoys makes use of Taiwan's geographic advantages, especially its mountainous and urban terrain which complicate enemy targeting and kill chain completion.


title: Namaste

text: Namaste (, Devanagari: नमस्ते), sometimes called "namaskar" and "namaskaram", is a customary Hindu non-contact manner of respectfully greeting and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day. It is found on the Indian subcontinent, and among the Nepalese and Indian diaspora. "Namaste" is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is called añjali mudrā; the standing posture incorporating it is pranamasana.


title: Namaste

text: "Namaste" ("Namas" + "te") is derived from Sanskrit and is a combination of the word "namas" and the second person dative pronoun in its enclitic form, "te". The word "namaḥ" takes the sandhi form "namas" before the sound "te".


title: Namaste

text: It is found in the Vedic literature. "Namas-krita" and related terms appear in the Hindu scripture "Rigveda" such as in the "Vivaha Sukta", verse 10.85.22 in the sense of "worship, adore", while "Namaskara" appears in the sense of "exclamatory adoration, homage, salutation and worship" in the "Atharvaveda", the "Taittiriya Samhita", and the "Aitareya Brahmana". It is an expression of veneration, worship, reverence, an "offering of homage" and "adoration" in the Vedic literature and post-Vedic texts such as the "Mahabharata". The phrase "Namas-te" appears with this meaning in "Rigveda" 8.75.10, "Atharvaveda" verse 6.13.2, "Taittirya Samhita" 2.6.11.2 and in numerous other instances in many early Hindu texts. It is also found in numerous ancient and medieval era sculpture and "mandapa" relief artwork in Hindu temples.


title: Namaste

text: According to the Indologist Stephen Phillips, the terms ""te" and "tvam"" are an informal, familiar form of "you" in Sanskrit, and it is typically not used for unfamiliar adults. It is reserved for someone familiar, intimate, divine or a child. By using the dative form of "tvam" in the greeting "Namas-te", there is an embedded secondary, metaphorical sense in the word. This is the basis of the pragmatic meaning of "Namas-te", that is "salutations to the (divine) child (in your heart)", states Phillips.


title: Namaste

text: In the contemporary era, "namaḥ" means 'bow', 'obeisance', 'reverential salutation' or 'adoration' and "te" means 'to you' (singular dative case of 'tvam'). Therefore, "namaste" literally means "bowing to you". In Hinduism, it also has a spiritual import reflecting the belief that "the divine and self (atman, Self) is same in you and me", and connotes "I bow to the divine in you". According to sociologist Holly Oxhandler, it is a Hindu term which means "the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you".


title: Namaste

text: A less common variant is used in the case of three or more people being addressed namely "Namo vaḥ" which is a combination of "namaḥ" and the enclitic second person plural pronoun "vaḥ". The word "namaḥ" takes the sandhi form "namo" before the sound "v". An even less common variant is used in the case of two people being addressed, namely, "Namo vām", which is a combination of "namaḥ" and the enclitic second person dual pronoun "vām".


title: Namaste

text: Excavations at various Indus Valley Civilisation have revealed some male and female terracotta figures in "namaste" posture. These archaeological findings are dated to the Mature Harappan.


title: Namaste

text: The gesture of folding hands during a namaste is called the "Añjali Mudrā". In addition to "namaste", this "mudra" is one of the postures found in Indian classical dance such as Bharatanatyam, and in yoga practice. It is widely found in Indian temple reliefs and sculpture in mandapam, at entrances and iconography such as the Lingobhavamurti of Shaivism. The Anjali mudra differs from namaste by being a non-verbal gesture, while namaste can be said with or without any gesture. According to Bhaumik and Govil, the Anjali mudra and Namaskara mudra are very similar but have a subtle difference. The back of the thumbs in Anjali mudra face the chest and are perpendicular to other fingers, while the thumbs in Namaskara mudra are aligned with the other fingers.


title: Namaste

text: Anjali mudra is described in Sanskrit texts such as in verse 9.127–128 of the "Natya Shastra" (200 BCE – 200 CE), in temple architecture texts dated after the sixth-century CE such as in verse 5.67 of the "Devata murti prakarana" and those on painting called the "Citrasutras". The "Natya Shastra", a classical Indian dance text, describes it to be a posture where the two hands are folded together in a reverential state and that this is used to pray before a deity, receive any person one reveres and also to greet friends. The "Natya Shastra" further states that for prayers inside a temple, the Anjali mudra should be placed near one's head or above, while meeting someone venerable it is placed in front of one's face or chin, and for friends near one's chest.


title: Namaste

text: The gesture is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia and beyond where people of South and Southeast Asian origins have migrated. "Namaste" is used as a respectful form of greeting, acknowledging and welcoming a relative, guest or stranger. In some contexts, "namaste" is used by one person to express gratitude for assistance offered or given, and to thank the other person for his or her generous kindness.


title: Namaste

text: "Namaskar" is also part of the 16 upacharas used inside temples or any place of formal Puja (worship). "Namaste" in the context of deity worship, scholars conclude, has the same function as in greeting a guest or anyone else. It expresses politeness, courtesy, honor, and hospitality from one person to the other. It is used in goodbyes as well. This is sometimes expressed, in ancient Hindu scriptures such as Taittiriya Upanishad, as Atithi Devo Bhava (literally, treat the guest like a god).


title: Namaste

text: "Namaste" is one of the six forms of pranama, and in parts of India these terms are used synonymously.


title: Namaste

text: Since namaste is a non-contact form of greeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested using the gesture as an alternative to hand shaking during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic as a means to prevent the spread of the virus.


title: Googolplex

text: A googolplex is the number 10, or equivalently, 10 or 10 . Written out in ordinary decimal notation, it is 1 followed by 10 zeroes; that is, a 1 followed by a googol of zeroes.


title: Googolplex

text: In 1920, Edward Kasner's nine-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, coined the term "googol", which is 10, and then proposed the further term "googolplex" to be "one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired". Kasner decided to adopt a more formal definition because "different people get tired at different times and it would never do to have Carnera [be] a better mathematician than Dr. Einstein, simply because he had more endurance and could write for longer". It thus became standardized to 10 = 10, due to the right-associativity of exponentiation.


title: Googolplex

text: A typical book can be printed with 10 zeros (around 400 pages with 50 lines per page and 50 zeros per line). Therefore, it requires 10 such books to print all the zeros of a googolplex (that is, printing a googol zeros). If each book had a mass of 100 grams, all of them would have a total mass of 10 kilograms. In comparison, Earth's mass is 5.972 × 10 kilograms, the mass of the Milky Way galaxy is estimated at 2.5 × 10 kilograms, and the total mass of all the stars in the observable universe is estimated at 2 × 10 kg.


title: Googolplex

text: To put this in perspective, the mass of all such books required to write out a googolplex would be vastly greater than the masses of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies combined (by a factor of roughly 2.0 × 10), and greater than the mass of the observable universe by a factor of roughly 7 × 10.


title: Googolplex

text: In pure mathematics, there are several notational methods for representing large numbers by which the magnitude of a googolplex could be represented, such as tetration, hyperoperation, Knuth's up-arrow notation, Steinhaus–Moser notation, or Conway chained arrow notation.


title: Googolplex

text: In the PBS science program "", , astronomer and television personality Carl Sagan estimated that writing a googolplex in full decimal form (i.e., "10,000,000,000...") would be physically impossible, since doing so would require more space than is available in the known universe. Sagan gave an example that if the entire volume of the observable universe is filled with fine dust particles roughly 1.5 micrometers in size (0.0015 millimeters), then the number of different combinations in which the particles could be arranged and numbered would be about one googolplex.


title: Googolplex

text: Writing the number would take an immense amount of time: if a person can write two digits per second, then writing a googolplex would take about 1.51 years, which is about 1.1 times the accepted age of the universe.


title: Googolplex

text: This sequence is the same as the sequence of residues (mod "n") of a googol up until the 17th position.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: The Venus of Willendorf is an Venus figurine estimated to have been made around 25,000-30,000 years ago. It was found on August 7, 1908, by a workman named Johann Veran or Josef Veram during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier, and Josef Bayer at a Paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. The figurine is now in the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: The figure is associated with the Upper Paleolithic Gravettian industry, which dates to between 33,000 and 20,000 years ago. The figure itself is estimated to have been left in the ground around 25,000 years ago, based on radiocarbon dates from the layers surrounding it.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: Similar sculptures, first discovered in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are traditionally referred to in archaeology as "Venus figurines", due to the widely-held belief that depictions of nude women with exaggerated sexual features represented an early fertility deity, perhaps a mother goddess. The reference to Venus is metaphorical, since the figurines predate the mythological figure of Venus by many thousands of years. Some scholars reject this terminology, instead referring to the statuette as the "Woman of" or "Woman from Willendorf".


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: Very little is known about the "Venus" origin, method of creation, or cultural significance; however, it is one of numerous "Venus figurines" surviving from Paleolithic Europe. The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. Like other similar sculptures, it probably never had feet, and would not have stood on its own, although it might have been pegged into soft ground. Parts of the body associated with fertility and childbearing have been emphasized, leading some researchers to believe that the Venus of Willendorf and similar figurines may have been used as fertility goddess. The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or perhaps a type of headdress.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits by women. This theory stems from the correlation of the proportions of the statues to how the proportions of women's bodies would seem if they were looking down at themselves, which would have been the only way to view their bodies during this period. They speculate that the complete lack of facial features could be accounted for by the fact that sculptors did not own mirrors. This reasoning has been criticized by Michael S. Bisson, who notes that water pools and puddles would have been readily available natural mirrors for Paleolithic humans.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: Research published in 2022 indicates that the closest and most likely source of the oolite used is on the other side of the Alps in northern Italy, near Lake Garda. A lesser possibility is that it came from a site in eastern Ukraine some 1,600km away.


title: Venus of Willendorf

text: While the former has the highest statistical probability, the latter is closer to sites in southern Russia where similarly styled figurines have been found. In either case, this raises questions regarding the mobility of ancient populations.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: Kanshi Ram named his protégée, Mayawati, as his successor in 2001. The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where it was the second-largest party in the 2019 Indian general election with 19.3% of votes and third-largest in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election with 12.88% of votes. Its election symbol is an elephant which is the same symbol historically used by Dr. Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: "Bahujan" is a Pali term frequently found in Buddhist texts, and literally refers to "the many", or "the majority". It connotes the combined population of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled tribes, Other Backward Classes, Muslims, and minorities who together constitute the demographic majority of India. The word "Bahujan" appears in the dictum "Bahujana Hitaya Bahujana Sukhaya", or "The benefit and prosperity of the many", articulated by Gautama Buddha.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: In his writing, Dr.B. R. Ambedkar used the term to refer to the majority of people in society that experienced discrimination and oppression on the basis of caste. Jyotirao Phule used the term in a similar context, and compared the Bahujans of India to Slavery in the United States.Schedule Caste and Bahujan writers have suggested this proportion was 70 percent of the population.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The Bahujan Samaj Party was founded on the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar (14 April 1984) by Kanshi Ram, who named former school teacher, Mayawati, as his successor of BSP in 2001. The party's power grew quickly with seats in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. In 1993, following the assembly elections, Mayawati formed a coalition with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister. On 2 June 1995, she withdrew support from his government, which led to a major incident where Yadav was accused of sending his zealots to keep her party legislators hostage at a Lucknow guest house and shout casteist abuses at her. Since this incident, they have regarded each other publicly as chief rivals. Mayawati then obtained support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become Chief Minister on 3 June 1995. In October 1995, the BJP withdrew their support and fresh elections were called after a period of President's Rule. In 2003, Mayawati resigned from her own government to prove that she was not "hungry for power" and asked the BJP-run Government of India to remove Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan. In 2007, she began leading a BSP-formed government with an absolute majority for a full five-year term.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The Bahujan Samaj Party on 14 April 2009 celebrated its silver jubilee. The "Manywar Shri Kanshi Ramji Shahri Garib Awas Yojna" housing scheme for poor was launched by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). The role of Mayawati was discussed in BSP's success. A mass rally was organised in Lucknow with 10000 police personnel on duty. It was the 305th and largest rally of BSP since 1984. As per Observer Research Foundation, within 25 years BSP became third largest political party of India.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: BSP believes in "Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation" of the "Bahujan Samaj". The Bahujan Samaj signifies the Bahujans as the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), and the Other Backward Castes (OBC). B. R. Ambedkar, a proponent of Bahujan rights, is their important ideological inspiration. The BSP also speaks in favor of religious minorities. The party claims not to be prejudiced against upper-caste Hindus. In 2008, while addressing the audience, Mayawati said: "Our policies and ideology are not against any particular caste or religion. If we were anti-upper caste, we would not have given tickets to candidates from upper castes to contest elections".


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The results of the May 2007 Uttar Pradesh state assembly election saw the BSP emerge as a sole majority party, the first to do so since 1991. Mayawati began her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and took her oath of office along with 50 ministers of cabinet and state rank on 13 May 2007, at Rajbhawan in the state capital of Lucknow. Most importantly, the majority achieved in large part was due to the party's ability to take away majority of upper castes votes from their traditional party, the BJP.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The party could manage only 80 seats in 2012 as against 206 in 2007 assembly elections. BSP government was the first in the history of Uttar Pradesh to complete its full five-year term. On 26 May 2018, Ram Achal Rajbhar was replaced by R S Kushwaha as the president of UP unit.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: The 2014 national Lok Sabha elections saw the BSP become the third-largest national party of India in terms of vote percentage, having 4.2% of the vote across the country but gaining no seats.


title: Bahujan Samaj Party

text: Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BSP formed a "Mahagathbandhan." The "Mahagathbandhan" (or Grand Alliance), or simply the "Gathbandhan" (Alliance), is an anti-Congress, anti-BJP Indian political alliance formed in the run-up to the 2019 general election under the leadership of two former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, along with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal and several other political parties, contesting in different states of India.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special administrative region of China (SAR) for 50 years, maintaining its own economic and governing systems from those of mainland China during this time, although influence from the central government in Beijing increased after the passing of the Hong Kong national security law in 2020.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Hong Kong had been a colony of the British Empire since 1841, except for four years of Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945. After the First Opium War, its territory was expanded on two occasions; in 1860 with the addition of Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island, and again in 1898, when Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the New Territories. The date of the handover in 1997 marked the end of this lease. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration had set the conditions under which Hong Kong was to be transferred, with China agreeing to maintain existing structures of government and economy under a principle of "one country, two systems" for a period of 50 years. Hong Kong became China's first special administrative region; it was followed by Macau after its transfer from Portugal in 1999 under similar arrangements.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: With a 1997 population of about 6.5 million, Hong Kong constituted 97 percent of the total population of all British Dependent Territories at the time and was one of the United Kingdom's last significant colonial territories. Its handover marked the end of British colonial prestige in the Asia-Pacific region where it had never recovered from the Second World War, which included events such as the sinking of "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" and the Fall of Singapore, as well as the subsequent Suez Crisis after the war. The transfer, which was marked by a handover ceremony attended by Charles III (then the Prince of Wales), and broadcast around the world, is often considered to mark the definitive end of the British Empire.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Following the end of the Second World War, both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proposed "(China) to recover Hong Kong" (, ), which had since been the common descriptive statement in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan until mid-1990s. "Reunification of Hong Kong" () was seldom used by a minority of pro-Beijing politicians, lawyers and newspapers during Sino-British negotiations in 1983 to 1984, only, of its Chinese translation, to become mainstream in Hong Kong at latest in early 1997. A similar phrase "return of Hong Kong to the motherland" () is also often used by Hong Kong and Chinese officials. Nevertheless, "Handover of Hong Kong" is still mainly used in the English-speaking world.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: "Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong" () is another description frequently used by Hong Kong officials and the media, as well as non-locals and academics, which is not recognized by the Chinese Government. Beijing claims neither the Qing dynasty exercised sovereignty of Hong Kong after ceding it, nor the British therefore did, and hence the transfer of sovereignty to China from Britain is not logically possible. As no consensus reached on the sovereignty transferring, the Chinese stated "to recover the Hong Kong area" () and "to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong" () in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, while the British declared "(to) restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China" ().


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: By the 1820s and 1830s, the British had conquered parts of India and had intentions of growing cotton in these lands to offset the amount of cotton they were buying from America. When this endeavour failed, the British realised they could grow poppies at an incredible rate. These poppies could then be turned into opium, which the Chinese highly desired, but their laws prohibited. So the British plan was to grow poppies in India, convert it into opium, smuggle the opium into China and trade it for tea, and sell the tea back in Britain. The illegal opium trade was highly successful, and the drug was very profitably smuggled into China in extremely large volumes.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: The United Kingdom obtained control over portions of Hong Kong's territory through three treaties concluded with Qing China after the Opium Wars:


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Despite the finite nature of the New Territories lease, this portion of the colony was developed just as rapidly as, and became highly integrated with, the rest of Hong Kong. As the end of the lease approached, and by the time of serious negotiations over the future status of Hong Kong in the 1980s, it was thought impractical to separate the ceded territories and return only the New Territories to China. In addition, with the scarcity of land and natural resources in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, large-scale infrastructure investments had been made in the New Territories, with break-evens lying well past 30 June 1997.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: When the People's Republic of China obtained its seat in the United Nations as a result of the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 in 1971, it began to act diplomatically on its previously lost sovereignty over both Hong Kong and Macau. In March 1972, the Chinese UN representative, Huang Hua, wrote to the United Nations Decolonization Committee to state the position of the Chinese government:


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: The same year, on 8 November, the United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution on removing Hong Kong and Macau from the official list of colonies.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In March 1979 the Governor of Hong Kong, Murray MacLehose, paid his first official visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC), taking the initiative to raise the question of Hong Kong's sovereignty with CCP vice chairman Deng Xiaoping. Without clarifying and establishing the official position of the PRC government, the arranging of real estate leases and loans agreements in Hong Kong within the next 18 years would become difficult.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In response to concerns over land leases in the New Territories, MacLehose proposed that British administration of the whole of Hong Kong, as opposed to sovereignty, be allowed to continue after 1997. He also proposed that contracts include the phrase "for so long as the Crown administers the territory".


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In fact, as early as the mid-1970s, Hong Kong had faced additional risks raising loans for large-scale infrastructure projects such as its Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system and a new airport. Caught unprepared, Deng asserted the necessity of Hong Kong's return to China, upon which Hong Kong would be given special status by the PRC government.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: MacLehose's visit to the PRC raised the curtain on the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty: Britain was made aware of the PRC's intent to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong, and began to make arrangements accordingly to ensure the sustenance of her interests within the territory, as well as initiating the creation of a withdrawal plan in case of emergency.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Three years later, Deng received the former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, who had been dispatched as the special envoy of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to establish an understanding of the PRC's plans with regards to the retrocession of Hong Kong; during their meeting, Deng outlined his plans to make the territory a special economic zone, which would retain its capitalist system under Chinese sovereignty.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In the same year, Edward Youde, who succeeded MacLehose as the 26th Governor of Hong Kong, led a delegation of five Executive Councillors to London, including Chung Sze-yuen, Lydia Dunn, and Roger Lobo. Chung presented their position on the sovereignty of Hong Kong to Thatcher, encouraging her to take into consideration the interests of the native Hong Kong population in her upcoming visit to China.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In light of the increasing openness of the PRC government and economic reforms on the mainland, the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sought the PRC's agreement to a continued British presence in the territory.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: However, the PRC took a contrary position: not only did the PRC wish for the New Territories, on lease until 1997, to be placed under the PRC's jurisdiction, it also refused to recognise the onerous "unfair and unequal treaties" under which Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had been ceded to Britain in perpetuity after the Opium Wars. Consequently, the PRC recognised only the British administration in Hong Kong, but not British sovereignty.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In the wake of Governor MacLehose's visit, Britain and the PRC established initial diplomatic contact for further discussions of the Hong Kong question, paving the way for Thatcher's first visit to the PRC in September 1982.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Margaret Thatcher, in discussion with Deng Xiaoping, reiterated the validity of an extension of the lease of Hong Kong territory, particularly in light of binding treaties, including the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, the Convention of Peking in 1856, and the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory signed in 1890.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In response, Deng Xiaoping cited clearly the lack of room for compromise on the question of sovereignty over Hong Kong; the PRC, as the successor of Qing dynasty and the Republic of China on the mainland, would recover the entirety of the New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. China considered treaties about Hong Kong as unequal and ultimately refused to accept any outcome that would indicate permanent loss of sovereignty over Hong Kong's area, whatever wording the former treaties had.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: During talks with Thatcher, China planned to seize Hong Kong if the negotiations set off unrest in the colony. Thatcher later said that Deng told her bluntly that China could easily take Hong Kong by force, stating that "I could walk in and take the whole lot this afternoon", to which she replied that "there is nothing I could do to stop you, but the eyes of the world would now know what China is like".


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: After her visit with Deng in Beijing, Thatcher was received in Hong Kong as the first British Prime Minister to set foot on the territory whilst in office. At a press conference, Thatcher re-emphasised the validity of the three treaties, asserting the need for countries to respect treaties on universal terms: "There are three treaties in existence; we stick by our treaties unless we decide on something else. At the moment, we stick by our treaties."


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: At the same time, at the 5th session of the 5th National People's Congress, the constitution was amended to include a new Article 31 which stated that the country might establish Special Administrative Regions (SARs) when necessary.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: The additional Article would hold tremendous significance in settling the question of Hong Kong and later Macau, putting into social consciousness the concept of "One country, two systems".


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: A few months after Thatcher's visit to Beijing, the PRC government had yet to open negotiations with the British government regarding the sovereignty of Hong Kong.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: Shortly before the initiation of sovereignty talks, Governor Youde declared his intention to represent the population of Hong Kong at the negotiations. This statement sparked a strong response from the PRC, prompting Deng Xiaoping to denounce talk of "the so-called 'three-legged stool", which implied that Hong Kong was a party to talks on its future, alongside Beijing and London.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: At the preliminary stage of the talks, the British government proposed an exchange of sovereignty for administration and the implementation of a British administration post-handover.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: The PRC government refused, contending that the notions of sovereignty and administration were inseparable, and although it recognised Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration", this was only temporary.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: In fact, during informal exchanges between 1979 and 1981, the PRC had proposed a "Macau solution" in Hong Kong, under which it would remain under British administration at China's discretion.


title: Handover of Hong Kong

text: However, this had previously been rejected following the 1967 Leftist riots, with the then Governor, David Trench, claiming the leftists' aim was to leave the UK without effective control, or "to Macau us".