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Taiwan Quick Take

■ POLITICS
New staff take a bow
The Cabinet yesterday announced the new chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and vice minister for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Deputy Cabinet Secretary General Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶)held a press in the afternoon to introduce Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) as the new council chairman and Cheng Ching-chun (陳景峻) as the new vice minister. Chen Ming-tong is a professor at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development. Chen Mei-ling said that it would take time to process the new MAC chief's paperwork because he was a professor, but that both men were expected to take office sometime this week.

■ CONSTRUCTION
FTC warns against hoarding
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is keeping an eye out for individuals or companies suspected of hoarding sand and gravel to manipulate prices, officials said yesterday. The sand and gravel market has already been feeling the effect of China's decision last month to limit the amount of gravel exported to this country. China's quasi-official Economic and Trade Exchange Association for the Two Sides of the Straits has yet to reach any consensus with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council to resolve the issue, commission officials said. They said some traders and companies have attempted to hoard local or imported sand and gravel in an attempt to manipulate prices. Eleven sand and gravel companies in central Taiwan were fined by the commission last year for hoarding, the officials said. Hoarders are subject to fines ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$25 million, they said.

■ DIPLOMACY
Health minister visits
Sao Tome and Principe Minister of Health Arlindo Vincente de Assuncao Carvalho arrived in Taipei yesterday for a four-day visit to discuss medical exchanges, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said. During his stay, Assuncao Carvalho, accompanied by Camelia Neto de Barros, a counselor of his health ministry, will meet with health officials and visit the Center for Disease Control to discuss malaria-control efforts, a ministry spokesman said. They will also visit the National Defense Medical Center, the Tri-Service General Hospital, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation and the International Cooperation and Development Fund, as well as Taipei 101. The spokesman said Carvalho had held several important positions in his country, including director of health for the north region, before being health minister last April. Barros used to be the director of the National Health Education Center and a consultant for the UN Children's Fund.

■ FISHERIES
Virus-resistant grouper bred
The Fisheries Research Institute has nurtured virus-free and virus-resistant grouper fry. After two years of research, specialists from the institute have produced "clean" grouper fry using a genetic method and have "screened" successful small fry with an enzyme-examination technology called PCR. The artificial breeding method was coupled with enhanced nutrition, a higher-grade sterilization of the breeding environment and a sterilized "egg-washing" process, researchers said. Viruses have infected more than 20 species of fish in Japan, South Korea, the US, China and Taiwan since 1990, with groupers being most affected, the researchers said.

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