■ POLITICS
Hu denies rumors
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday that he will not seek medical attention in China during his visit there to attend an Asia-Pacific regional cities summit. It had been rumored that Hu, who suffered a minor stroke several years ago, would take advantage of his visit to China next week to see a doctor. Hu said that if people are suspicious about his trip, they are welcome to join him, as he will keep an open and transparent itinerary. The Taichung mayor, who visited Beijing June 8 to 10 this year to attend a city and local government conference, is scheduled to depart Taiwan Oct. 10 to attend the Asia-Pacific Cities Summit slated for Oct. 11 to 14 in Chongqing, Sichuan Province.
■ POLITICS
Hsieh backs Yao
Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday showed his support for Government Information Office Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) when Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) criticized Yao and asked Hsieh to remove him from his post. At the legislature yesterday, Wang questioned Hsieh for doing nothing to discipline Yao, after Yao was accused of slacking in his duties during President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent diplomatic trip. Media reported that Yao went drinking with a stewardess all night, leaving him sleepy and hard to understand the next day. "If he does anything wrong, we will definitely find out where the problem is, and ask him to fix it. I do not think that a new replacement will solve anything," Hsieh said.
■ SOCIETY
Soiree to be held
The Double Ten National Day soiree will be held in the Changhua County gym this year, from 7pm to 9pm. This is the first time ever that the event will be held outside of Taipei. The soiree was organized by the Double Tenth Day Preparatory Committee and the Changhua County Government. According to deputy director-general of Changhua's Tourism Bureau Lee Yueh-hsun (李岳勳), Changhua was chosen to hold the event due to it geographical placement -- right in the middle of Taiwan. In addition, the culture and old historical sites are also specialties of Changhua, Lee said. The soiree will be combined with the "lighting of the Buddha" ceremony, a famous tradition in Changhua. The MC for the event will be Hsieh Li-chin (謝麗金), while other artists are also due to perform.
■ SOCIETY
Group wants funds for arms
A civic group announced yesterday that it will launch a fundraising drive in which it hopes to persuade 1 million people to each donate NT$100 (US$3) to help pay for the nation's arms purchases from the US. Northern Taiwan Society executives made the announcement after the special arms procurement package was blocked for the 31st time in the Legislative Yuan this week, because of obstruction by the pan-blue alliance. The executives claim that the drive will "help fund" the arms purchases, cement national defense and highlight the Taiwanese people's determination to defend the country. Northern Taiwan Society president Wu Shu-ming (吳樹民) criticized the pan-blue camp for boycotting the arms procurement package, saying that "their deliberate obstruction will bring downfall to the nation."
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its