■ Defense
MND denies missile plans
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) denied yesterday it was scheduled to produce 500 Hsiungfeng 2E missiles that would bring Shanghai within firing range. Ministry spokesman Wu Chi-fang (吳季方) said the reports carried in the latest issue of Defense News were "untrue." The weekly quoted local media as saying that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) recently inspected a secret test-firing of Hsiungfeng 2E missiles in Pingtung. The missiles, which have a range of between 600km and 1,000km, could threaten parts of eastern China, including Shanghai, it said. Wu said that the ministry had said repeatedly that Hsiungfeng-series missiles were "ship-to-ship" missiles.
■ Transportation
Ticketing to be discussed
Vice Minister of Transpor-tation and Communications Ho Nuan-hsuen (何煖軒) said yesterday that his ministry would convene a meeting in two weeks to discuss the possibility of integrating all ticketing systems utilized by mass transportation systems, including the high speed rail, trains operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA), the MRT system and city buses. The announcement came after the ministry was criticized at the Legislative Yuan on Monday for falling behind other Asian countries in executing the policy. Ho said the Taipei Smart Card Co and business operators offering similar systems in other counties were eager to integrate their ticketing systems. Ho said the ministry planned to rely on three market dominators to operate the integrated ticketing system in northern, central and southern Taiwan. The meeting will explore the difficulty of achieving this.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese