■ Consumer safety
Hair dyes dangerous
Sixty-seven percent of hair dye products sold on the Taiwanese market contain p-phenylenediamine (PPD), an irritating chemical that can lead to allergies and even cancer, the results of a survey released yesterday by the Consumers' Foundation showed. The survey was conducted on nine hair dye products purchased by the foundation from cosmetics and beauty product stores in the Taipei area on Feb. 5, foundation officials said. The survey found that six of the products contained PPD and four of these did not issue any warnings for consumers, the officials said. Hsu Wan-sheng (許萬盛), a member of the foundation's medical disputes committee, said that PPD can trigger allergic reactions such as swelling and rashes.
■ Diplomacy
Nauru to open embassy
Nauru will establish an embassy in Taiwan in March and the country's new ambassador, Ludwig Keke, has already arrived, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced yesterday. Donald Lee (李傳通), director-general of the ministry's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, yesterday said Nauru had enjoyed smooth interactions with Taiwan since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations in 2005 . Lee said he believed "the diplomatic ties between two nations will develop well" after the embassy is opened. Nauru switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in July 2002 but restored ties with Taipei in May 2005. Nauruan President Ludwig Scotty will sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on labor affairs with Council of Labor Affairs Chairman Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) tomorrow.
■ Crime
Reporter charged with theft
Criminal Investigation Bureau authorities arrested a Taiwan Television Enterprise reporter yesterday for alleged theft in an extortion case involving a Japanese doctor who reportedly sold fugitive businessman Wang You-theng (王又曾) medicine to treat erectile dysfunction. The reporter, surnamed Chen, allegedly raided Isamu Karashima's Taipei office last week with three men posing as police officers and threatened to expose Isamu for practicing medicine without a license. Police detained and questioned Chen for stealing Isamu's computer last night, while investigators sought to keep Chen in custody to prevent him from colluding with other suspects, local media said. Chen reportedly admitted to taking Isamu's computer, but said that he had done so with the doctor's permission.
■ Crime
Bad meat suspects released
The Pingtung District Prosecutor's Office yesterday released 11 suspects on bail after law enforcement officers had detained them the previous day on charges of selling tainted pork from sick and dead hogs. The environmental police busted the ring in Pingtung County's Changchih Township (長治) and in the city of Pingtung, seizing 5,500kg of tainted pork. The ring's members included seven people with a license to transport sick and dead hogs for safe disposal, as well as several hired hands. Law enforcement officers found that the licensees had actually been butchering the sick and dead hogs and selling the tainted meat. The crackdown in Pingtung County came after police in Yunlin County raided five illegal slaughterhouses on Feb. 1, arresting one suspect and seizing 30 tonnes of tainted pork believed to have been stashed to meet the increased demand for meat during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it