Print

Mail

wiki links

Taiwan Quick Take

■ Health
Ob-gyn annual meeting held
This year's annual meeting of the Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology (TAOG) was held at National Taiwan University's international conference center. Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) praised the doctors in attendance for taking care of women "from womb to tomb." The two-day conference, which touched on topics such as postpartum hemorrhage and tips on laparoscopic myomectomy, featured 94 presentations in total. Among the presenters was Chang Yoon-seok, the director-elect of the Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Speakers came from Korea, Japan and Austria. "The 334 submissions to this meeting represent a rich year of research," said TAOG director Yang Yu-shih (楊友仕).

■ Tourism
MAC to revise Penghu rules
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday it will revise regulations to allow residents of outlying Penghu to travel to China via Kinmen and Matsu and Chinese citizens to travel to Penghu for sightseeing trips via the "small three links" at the end of this month. Under the existing regulations, only Kinmen and Matsu maintain direct shipping services -- commonly known as the "mini three links" -- with the opposite site of the Taiwan Strait. MAC officials said that a total of 660,000 people traveled to and from China via Kinmen and Matsu last year. In view of the heavy traffic flow between Kinmen and Xiamen, Kinmen and Quanzhou, and Matsu and Mawei, the government will continue to bolster its resources for sea disaster rescue operations.

■ Construction
MOEA unveils gravel plan
The nation can manage with its present gravel stockpile until the end of next month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday. MOEA officials also said they would soon embark on consultations with China on gravel supplies. China banned the export of gravel on March 1, although it said it would have separate consultations with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on the issue. The Mainland Affairs Council designated the Taiwan External Trade Development Council to consult with an association under China's Ministry of Commerce on the matter. The officials estimated local demand for gravel will be 67.86 million cubic meters this year, while the supply will be 69.93 million cubic meters. As of March 18, the actual supply was 12.57 million cubic meters -- about the same as the amount forecast in the ministry's supply schedule.

■ Agriculture
NZ trade envoy impressed
New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy, Alistair Polson, said he was impressed by Taiwan's agriculture sector. Polson said in an interview on Friday he saw potential for better development of the nation's high-quality fruits industry and that he was impressed by the agriculture sector's great interest in New Zealand's agricultural reforms. Polson is on a tour of several countries for agricultural exchanges with governments and industry to share his country's experience in agricultural reform in the 1980s and to promote relations between New Zealand and its agricultural partners. Stating statistics from the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei, Polson said that annual trade between New Zealand and Taiwan was NT$12.97 billion (US$392 million) and that Taiwan was the seventh largest export market for New Zealand's fruits and vegetables and meat and dairy products.

■ Tourism
Cruise docks in Kaohsiung
The Bahamas-registered international cruise ship Amadea made its maiden port call at Kaohsiung on Friday, a spokesman from the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau said yesterday. The crew and passengers received a warm welcome, with the bureau arranging a music and dance performance to greet their arrival. The bureau also presented the crew and passengers with free souvenirs and guidebooks to Kaohsiung, where they spent the day sightseeing. The ship, at 193m long and 24.7m wide with a loading capacity of 28,800 tonnes, is carrying 300 crew members and 600 passengers on its voyage. The Amadea left Kaohsiung Port later the same day and headed for Vietnam, to continue its round-the-world voyage, the spokesman said.

■ Fisheries
Australia detains fishermen
Australian customs officials yesterday said they had detained 15 crew members of a Taiwanese-flagged vessel that was intercepted in waters off north-east Australia, suspected of illegal fishing. Customs said officers boarded the long-line trawler Shuen Man on Thursday about 480km north of Lord Howe Island, off the coast of Queensland State. It said the vessel was being escorted to Brisbane, where the crew will be handed over to immigration officials. Customs said there were 15 men on board, nine of whom claimed to be Indonesian, four Chinese and two Taiwanese. Australia has stepped up efforts to intercept illegal fishing in its northern waters in recent years. "The swift response to the alleged incursion is clear evidence of the agency's ability to take action anywhere around the Australian coast," acting Customs enforcement chief Brian Hurrell said.


This story has been viewed 1421 times.