■ Cross-strait ties
China tries to block interview
The Seoul correspondent of Beijing's People's Daily is trying to prevent the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club (SFCC) from holding a videoconference with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the head of the association said. Club president Lee Su-wan said that the club's managing director, Lee Byung-jong, who is Newsweek's correspondent in Seoul, came up with the idea of a videoconference last month. However, Lee Su-wan said the proposal met strong opposition from People's Daily correspondent Xu Baokong (徐寶康) when it was discussed at a SFCC board meeting. Lee Su-wan said he supports the holding of a videoconference and that if the event can't be held inside the club's headquarters, he would be willing to hold the event at another venue. He said behind-the-scenes discussions on the proposal are still going on and that he and other board members are considering revising the club's regulations to allow for the proposed videoconference.
■ Society
Fireworks in Taipei tonight
The Taipei City Government is holding a fireworks display and musical performance at Dadaocheng (大稻埕) along the Danshui River tonight to celebrate Retrocession Day, which falls on Tuesday. The concert will begin at 6:30pm featuring Taiwanese songs performed by traditional singers, including Lee Ping-jui (李炳輝) and Liu Fu-zhu (劉福助). The fireworks, sponsored by the Department of Information and the Taipei Broadcasting Station, will light up the sky between 9pm and 9:30pm. More information is available from the city's government's Web site (www.taipei.gov.tw/event/1022/).
■ Charity
Blankets sent to Pakistan
Victims of the massive earthquake in Pakistan will be getting 7,000 blankets from the people of Taiwan soon. China Airlines and Pakistan Airlines have agreed to transport the blankets for free after the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Foundation initiated a blanket drive. Tzu Chi sent a 15-member team to Islamabad on Wednesday to join the relief operations. The team is made up of Tzu Chi volunteers, medical personnel and journalists from Taiwan, Jordan, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. They brought 700kg of relief materials and medicines to Muzaffarabad for residents needing help. Tzu Chi is also preparing 220,000 vegetarian meal packages for shipment to the disaster area by air.
■ Society
Food fair at TAS
The Parents-Teacher Association of the Taipei American School (TAS) is hosting its 23rd Internatinal Food Fair today from 10am to 3pm. There will be booths offering food from many countries, plus activities for children. TAS is located at 800 Zhongshan N Rd, Sec. 6 in Tienmu.
■ Society
Demand for caregivers rises
With the number of elderly growing steadily, the number of foreign caregivers now stands at more than 120,000, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said. The number of people aged 65 or older had reached 2.18 million as of the end of June, accounting for 9.6 percent of the total population, officials said, adding that the ratio marked a 0.3 percent growth year-on-year. The steady increase in the numbers of elderly has given rise to the demand for foreign caregivers. According to the agency's figures, the number of foreign caregivers had risen to 124,000 as of the end of June, up 5 percent from the year earlier.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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