■ Crime
Sex offenders to be tagged
The government will order "high risk" sex offenders to wear electronic tags on their release from jail in a bid to reduce sex crimes, justice officials said yesterday. Under the revised Sexual Violation Prevention Law (性侵害防治法), "high risk" sex criminals, such as serial rapists and those who had attempted to escape from prison, would be required to wear the electronic bracelets upon their release, said an official at the Department of Rehabilitation and Social Protection. Police would be mobilized if they were detected wandering in restricted areas or during their curfew hours. "We hope the new measure will help reduce sex crimes and better protect women's welfare," the official said. The official declined to say how many people would be subject to the new rule, which takes effect on Aug. 5, but local media estimated the number at several hundred.
■ Health
QC program set to begin
In a bid to improve medical service, a hospital quality-control (QC) program will be launched next month to stop hospitals from turning away patients or limiting the number of out-patients, officials said yesterday. "The new version of the Hospital Excellence Plan will be introduced in April. The program will strike a balance between patients' right to medical care and the quality of medical services," Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou (侯勝茂) said at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. Last year, the Bureau of National Health Insurance held a six-month-long trial run of the plan, in which hospitals that met several quality standards got a higher rate of co-payment from the bureau. However, many hospitals ended up turning away people in order to meet the criteria. "We didn't name the new program the Hospital Excellence Plan, because some hospitals' blunders last year created a bad impression. But the spirit to enhance the quality of medical services remains unchanged," bureau president Liu Chien-hsiang (劉見祥) said.
■ Politics
Chiu to enter Taichung race
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) plans to announce his resignation on Monday so that he can throw his hat into the ring for the election for commissioner in his native Taichung County. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chiu was elected a legislator from his hometown in 1999 and retained the position until last May, when he was named to the council post. Chiu is one of several top officials planning to leave their posts in the central government to run for local government jobs.
■ Education
Cellphone classes planned
Telephone companies are expected to start providing English lessons over cellphones in a bid to tap into the young student market, researchers said yesterday. The companies may start using the phones to teach users English vocabulary, reading and pronunciation as early as next month, the Institute for Information Industry said. The service will use colored, animated images as well as sound, said institute researcher Wang Pai-pin, who developed the system and sold it to the phone companies. Charges for the service will start at about NT$200 a month, Wang said. Phone companies have had little success so far tapping the children's market despite aggressive promotions and price cuts. "Parents are reluctant to buy cellphones for their children for fear they could hinder their studies," Wang said.
■ Sports
Olympic torch relay unlikely
Taiwan enjoys equal status to that of China on the International Olympic Committee and will not accept Beijing's plan to make Taiwan one of the destinations in a "domestic route" for the torch relay for the 2008 Olympic Games, an official said yesterday. Chu Shou-chien (朱壽騫), vice chairman of the National Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, said it is still too early to react to the issue because the plan is not yet final and the Games are still three years away. Liu Qi, president of Beijing's organizing committee for the Games, said recently that the "domestic route" of the torch relay will include Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
■ Culture
Honduran official visits
Honduran Ambassador Marlene Villela visited Miaoli County Commissioner Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬) yesterday to discuss the 2005 Miaoli International Mask Festival, which will be held March 26 to May 29. The festival will center around the old civilizations of Central and South America including Aztec, Inca and Maya cultures. Villela said she was interested to see that the incorporation of locally crafted wooden frames would be used during the show, evidence of how the integration of the two forms could enhance the entire exhibition and further develop tourism. Masks from Honduras will be on display at the show, Villela said, adding that her country's cultural affairs department will send two artists to Taiwan to tape the festival for reference should Honduras decide to put on a similar show. The festival will also feature a lion dance, magic and variety shows, drama performances and folk dances.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim
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