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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Health
CDC reports malaria case
The Center for Disease Control confirmed on Monday the country's first malaria case of the year. Center officials said the patient, a 48-year-old man, had been on a business trip to Madagascar from Jan. 1 to last Thursday. He developed a fever on Jan. 4 and sought medical treatment upon his return to Taiwan last Thursday. The hospital alerted the center after suspecting that he had malaria. The officials noted that the center received notification of 132 confirmed malaria cases between 2002 and last year, with 130 of those being contracted overseas, mainly from Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Myanmar and Malawi. Since Taiwan eradicated the mosquito-borne disease in 1965, most malaria cases reported have been contracted abroad, with an average of about 30 cases per year.

■ Society
Chen Ding-nan hall planned
A preparatory committee has been formed to oversee the construction of a memorial hall in commemoration of the late minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), who died of lung cancer in November, the committee's spokesman, Lai Juei-ting (賴瑞鼎) said. Lai said construction of the hall would cost an estimated NT$50 million (US$1.5 million), and an additional NT$200 million would be needed for maintenance operations. The committee has so far collected just NT$ 9.1 million, Lai said, adding that the committee had not yet decided on a location for the planned memorial hall. According to an initial blueprint, Lai said the hall would include a main gallery to display Chen's manuscripts and other documents, particularly those from his eight years as Ilan County commissioner.

■ Diplomacy
WHA decision explained
Director-general of the Department of International Organizations John Chen (陳忠) yesterday explained why Taiwan did not apply for observer status at this year's Executive Board of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held on Monday. Chen said the decision was made following strategic considerations rather than time pressure. The Executive Board of the WHA is not a policy-making body that has the power to decide whether Taiwan could become a WHA observer, Chen said, adding that El Salvador was the only ally of Taiwan that is in the 35-member board. Therefore, it might have a negative effect if Taiwan were to insist on applying for observer status, he said. Lai added that "Taiwan will never give up its efforts to gain membership in the WHO" and will take effective and practical action to accomplish this goal.

■ Health
Visually impaired get advice
Visually impaired people need to exercise regularly to stay healthy, said Weng Lin-chung (翁林仲), superintendent of the Renai branch of Taipei City Hospital. Weng said that he found a higher rate of obesity and health issues among the visually impaired after the hospital launched a free physical check-up service. During the check-ups, one blind man who worked as a masseur admitted that he hardly did any exercise because of a loss of strength and time constraints. Weng added that many visually impaired people do not make a habit of taking regular exercise, except for walking, and do not have balanced diets. He added that it could be difficult for the visually impaired to access health information. Weng advised the visually impaired to take 30-minute exercises at least three times a week.

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