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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ Diplomacy
Nicaragua gets medical aid
A medical advisory team sent by the Department of Health to Nicaragua will donate medical goods and equipment worth NT$2 million (US$60,420) to the Central American country as part of Taiwan's "medical diplomacy," a department spokesman said yesterday. He said the experts would donate basic medicines, anti-epidemic disease materials and orthopedic devices and equipment during their stay in Nicaragua, which ends next Wednesday. The medical diplomacy program is based on a consensus reached in talks between the Nicaraguan Minister of Health Juana Maritza Cuan and Health Minister Ho Sheng-mao (侯勝茂), who accompanied President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on a visit to Nicaragua in January.

■ Sport
`Adoption service' launched
The Kaohsiung city government has launched an "adoption service" to encourage colleges and communities to get behind the various sports and participating countries of the 2009 World Games as a means of drumming up local identification with and support of the Games. Chen Yi-heng (陳以亨), Chief executive officer of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) , said such adoptions would help citizens better understand the World Games, which will bring together 3,200 competitors from more than 100 participating countries to compete in 26 official and 12 invitational events from July 16 to 26, 2009. Colleges and communities that adopt events or participating countries will be responsible for cheering on adopted countries and hosting athletes during the 11-day event.

■ Crime
Police team up to fight fraud
South Korea will send police officers to Taiwan to work with the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) in the fight against cross-border fraud, a CIB officer said yesterday. According to the officer, South Korea pays great attention to fighting cross-border fraud, as more and more South Koreans have become victims. Two Taiwanese fraudsters who flew to South Korea in January to teach fraud skills to criminals there were arrested on Thursday by the CIB when they returned via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The two arrested men worked for Chinese fraud rings as "drivers" -- which means they would withdraw money using the identities of victims whose personal information had been stolen. According to the officer, Taiwan's police have made good progress in their anti-fraud work, so now cross-border fraud rings have targeted South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, sending Taiwanese "drivers" to these countries to teach fraud skills. South Korean police have arrested dozens of Taiwanese "drivers" since the beginning of the year, the officer said.

■ Arts
Huqin players wanted
Around 1,200 people are slated to take part in an event on April 28 as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, which comprises the National Theater and the National Concert Hall in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Complex in downtown Taipei. The event, to be organized by the Chai Found Music Workshop at the plaza of the complex, aims to challenge the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously playing the huqin (胡琴), a Chinese string instrument, according to the organizers. They called on all those interested in taking part to apply before April 15.

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