■ TB rate causes concern
A medical researcher noted yesterday that the number of people dying from tuberculosis in Taiwan is 20 times the figure in the US, which he said proved that the quality of the nation's medical services needed to be improved. Wen Chi-pang (溫啟邦), a fellow at the Health Policy Research Division of the National Health Research Institute, made the remarks in his thesis presented at a conference promoting improvements to medical services. Wen said the number of people dying from tuberculosis had decreased in the last 10 years thanks to improvements in medical technology. Taipei City registered the lowest rate in 2002, with Taitung County registering the highest rate, at five times Taipei's level. The rate in mountainous areas was 126 times higher than the US rate.
■ Crime
Hotline for kidnap hoaxes
The education ministry has decided to set up emergency hotlines for parents to report attempts of extortion through hoax kidnappings of students, a radio station reported yesterday. The education ministry issued the order because criminals were making phone calls to students' parents, claiming they had kidnapped their children and would kill them unless the parents paid them off, the Broadcasting Corporation of China said. Some parents had taken the threats seriously and followed the instructions, sending money to the criminals' bank accounts, only to find out later that their children were safe in school. Some schools had established hotlines even before the ministry's order, the report said.
■ Crime
Campaign targets fraud
Heads of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies will meet tomorrow to figure out more effective ways to fight rampant fraud. The meeting was decided upon following an announcement by Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) on Friday that he was declaring an all-out war against gangs conspiring to defraud the community. Top officials from different government departments, including incoming National Police Administration Director-General Hsieh Yin-tang (謝銀黨), will attend the meeting. Increasing numbers of people, including the minister himself, have fallen victim to crimes of fraud, including credit-card fraud and elaborate ATM card scams.
■ Diplomacy
Officials meet EBRD head
A delegation headed by Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), Taiwan's representative to London, met with Jean Lemierre, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), yesterday to discuss ways of promoting bilateral cooperation. The Taiwan delegation, consisting of financial officials and diplomats, will also attend the 13th annual meeting of the EBRD in London today and tomorrow, including its Board of Governors' meeting, business forum and donors' meeting. Tien said before the meeting that Taiwan shared the EBRD's aim of promoting democracy and the market economy, and that he looked forward to closer cooperation with the EBRD. Founded in 1991 following the collapse of communism in eastern and central Europe, the EBRD has promoted investment as a means of developing market economies and democracies in 27 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Taiwanese officials opened an office with the EBRD in February.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
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