■ Postal Services
Stamps honor Teresa Teng
Chunghua Post Co yesterday issued 10,000 sets of stamps featuring images of Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), one of the most popular Taiwan-born singers, who died on May 8, 1995, from a severe asthma attack at the age of 43 while on a trip to Thailand. The stamp set is being sold for NT$250, a spokesman for the state-owned company said. This is the second time that Chunghua Post has issued stamps featuring Teng at the request of the Teresa Teng Education and Culture Foundation. Chunghua Post issued Teng stamps last August to mark what would have been her her 50th birthday. The sets sold out shortly after being issued. In addition to local people, many of Teng's fans in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and Southeast Asian nations bought the stamps. The strong market response prompted Chunghua Post to issue Teng stamps again.
■ Diplomacy
Ally tours Kaohsiung
Sao Tome and Principe President Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes toured Kaohsiung Harbor yesterday. Aboard a tourist ship, Menezes and his entourage cruised around the harbor escorted by Kaohsiung Harbor Director Huang Ching-teng (黃清藤), who briefed the dignitaries on the harbor's operations and its business prospects. Huang told Menezes that the harbor handled 8.8 million container units last year, and was expected to see volume grow considerably after expansion and the implementation of further measures to make it a tax-free transshipment port. Menezes and his 15-member delegation arrived on Monday for a five-day state visit. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) conferred the Order of Brilliant Jade upon Menezes in honor of his contribution to bilateral ties at a ceremony at the Presidential Office shortly after his arrival.
■ Science
NTU student up for award
A National Taiwan University student is among 12 high-achievers selected for recognition in the fourth Young Inventors Awards 2003. Lin Chung-yin, who is studying for a doctorate in chemical engineering, was chosen for devising a test that uses an artificial antibody for rapid detection of all strains of dengue fever in early stages of infection. The Far Eastern Economic Review, in association with Hewlett-Packard, selected 12 finalists in the competition, which is aimed at encouraging and honoring the spirit of invention among students in the Asia-Pacific region. The shortlist was drawn from a pool of 92 entries sent in by students from universities and other tertiary institutions throughout the region. An international panel of 13 judges chose the 12 finalists, with five of these coming from Singapore. The other finalists came from Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. The awards ceremony will be held in Singapore next Wednesday.
■ International Aid
Agricultural team in Panama
An agricultural technical team from Taiwan is helping more than 100 schools in several remote areas in Panama to grow vegetables to improve the diet of schoolchildren, Panamanian daily La Prensa reported Monday. The report said the agricultural team began in 2000 to help schools in remote areas of the provinces of Churiqui, Los Santos, Herrera, Cocle, Veraguas and Darien to set up simple structures for growing vegetables. The project is expected to expand to 124 schools this year. The team has also helped establish 100 permanent farms in Panama, the report said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese