■ Health
Students at risk of suicide
Ten percent of Taiwanese university students have attempted suicide due to pressure in life and in school, a survey showed yesterday. According to the poll of 3,594 university students by the Taiwan Association of Clinical Psychiatrists, 367 students -- or 10.21 percent -- have attempted suicide in the past year. Among medical students the number of attempted suicides over the past year was around 14 percent, compared with 7.7 percent among students in engineering. The poll showed that 5.33 per cent of those questioned suffer from severe depression. They tend to be cynical, have a low opinion of themselves and have problems with interpersonal relationships. Taiwan has one of the highest suicides rates in Asia. Last year 3,468 Taiwanese killed themselves, averaging about 10 suicides per day, at a rate of 15.31 suicides per every 100,000 people.
■ Society
Folk fest features robots
Several robots are being displayed at a special pavilion at the ongoing 2005 Ilan Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival, organizers said Saturday. Robots that can do push-ups, sommersaults, or even hip-hop dances are just some of the interesting things that await visitors to the pavilion. To give visitors a better understanding of robots, the pavilion has been divided into many educational sections dedicated to introducing facts regarding robots and the way robots are made, the organizers said. The festival is set to run through Aug. 14.
■ Biology
People want to make love
As Lover's Day approaches next week, a survey released yesterrday said that most young lovers in Taiwan would -- unsurprisingly -- like to celebrate the day by making love. In an online poll, the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) asked young people what they most wanted to do on Lovers' Day, which falls on Aug. 11 this year. The poll gave four choices: a romantic dinner, a walk, making love, or all three. Among the 504 respondents, 7 percent wanted a romantic dinner with their lovers, 15 percent opted for a walk, 44 percent wanted to make love and 33 per cent wanted to do all three.
■ Diplomacy
Pacheco to visit
Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, at the head of a 14-member delegation, is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan Aug. 12 for a six-day state visit, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). At the invitation of the ROC government, Pacheco will attend the inauguration of the Democratic Pacific Union initiated by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), and sign a joint comunique with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Pacheco first visited Taiwan in October 2002 to participate in the ROC's national day celebrations in his capacity as the Costa Rican president. He visited again in August 2003 to attend the summit of heads of state of the ROC and its Central American allies. Pacheco's August visit will be his third to Taiwan, which reflects the cordial relations between the two countries, a MOFA official said. Pacheco's delegation will include Costa Rican Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar, Minister of Foreign Trade Manual Gonzalez and several members of the Legislative Assembly.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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