■ Drugs
Bureau warns on ecstasy
Ecstasy pills popular among clubbers often contain hazardous additives that have the potential to kill, the National Bureau of Controlled Drugs warned yesterday. According to the Bureau's analysis, the amount of ecstasy in a tablet varied greatly from a low of 36mg to a high of 193mg. Tablets sometimes contain no ecstasy but other drugs such as methamphetamine, amphetamine, ketamine and sedatives like diazepam. "Drug users cannot discern how much ecstasy there will be in tablets. Neither can they predict what other drugs are contained in the ecstasy pill. One possible danger is that they will not stop taking pills until they get high. Unfortunately, this places ecstasy users at a greater risk of a fatal overdose," bureau director-general Li Jih-heng (李志恆) said.
■ Tourism
Kinmen wants tourism
Taiwan opened its doors to Chinese tourists wishing to visit Kinmen and Matsu as part of its "small three links" policies in January 2001, although China failed to give its approval until late September, when Fujian Province Deputy Governor Wang Mei-xiang (王美香) announced that the government was prepared to lift bans on tourism. Prior to the new tourism policies' implementation towards the end of last year, opportunities to tour Taiwan had been limited to Chinese officials on rare occasions. However, Lin Cheng-cha (林振查), director of Kinmen's Transportation and Tourism Bureau, admitted yesterday that tourism figures have not been ideal thus far and were in need of improvement. Just under 600 tourists have visited Kinmen since December.
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
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
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
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