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Taiwan News Quick Take

■Customs
New passport to be issued
Taipei resident Kuo Yi-ming (郭怡銘) will get the coveted first copy of the nation's new passport to be issued Sept. 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. The ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs conducted a random, computerized draw yesterday to decide who will get the first 100 new passports. Kuo was one of 3,017 people who had filed applications for the new passports between Aug. 1 and Thursday. Kuo said he was excited to hear he would get the very first new passport. "It came as a surprise to me. I'm more than happy," he said by phone. The new version of the passport will have the word "Taiwan," in addition to the name Republic of China on its cover.

■ Health
Officials hope for SARS test
The Department of Health hopes that a system for diagnosing SARS within three hours will be established in early October, an official said yesterday. Center for Disease Control Director General Su Yi-jen (蘇益仁) said a new diagnostic system will be useful in distinguishing cases of SARS from the flu, especially in the autumn, when approximately 1 million people in the country suffer from colds and flu each year. Research is being done at home and abroad to make an early establishment of the system possible, he said. The government will encourage people to stay at home for three days when they have cold symptoms or those of the flu. They should, however, seek medical treatment if they have symptoms of pneumonia or have difficulty in breathing.

■ Education
Seven win scholarship
The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) and the Strategic Executive Search Group (SES) yesterday announced the latest winners of the AmCham/SES Scholarship for high-school students. The scholarship was established to provide gifted students from financially challenged families a chance to reach their true academic and leadership potential. This year's winners are Tsang Chia-fen, Hsiao Hung-wei, Lan Ling-erh, Chiu Yu-chen, Wang Jen-hua, Chang Chiu-fu, and Kuo Ping-jang. The scholarship will pay the tuition fees for the seven students for the rest of their high-school years.

■ Utilities
Taipower says don't fret
The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) instructed its departments yesterday to ensure a sufficient and safe supply of electricity following a power outage that struck cities in northern US and Canada Thursday. Taiwan also suffered a massive blackout that darkened almost the entire island on July 29, 1999. The power outage was caused by the collapse of a transmission tower in Tainan County, as a result of a landslide due to heavy rainfall in the region. Taipower spokesman Lee Ching-tien (李錦田) said yesterday that the reserve capacity of the nation's electricity supply system has reached 14.7 percent this year, a considerable improvement over last year. Lee said there will be no shortage of electricity supply this summer, as long as no natural disasters hit the country.

Agencies
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