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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Health
Interns don't need AIDS tests
Mandatory AIDS testing for medical interns is against the law, the Department of Health said. The department made the announcement after a panel discussion on Thursday, which was called to address an official inquiry filed by a medical schools association last week asking whether medical schools were allowed to screen all incoming medical interns for the disease. After the discussion, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) officials told the association that such screenings would be illegal. The AIDS Control Act states that health authorities can demand non-voluntary AIDS testing for certain groups, including prostitutes and their clients, men who have sex with men, drug users, foreign laborers and those serving in the military.

■ Politics
Wang dismisses story
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday dismissed a report by the Chinese-language China Times that he had decided not to pair up with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on the party's presidential ticket. The report quoted an anonymous source as saying that Wang told his friends at a private gathering last Sunday that he would not consider being Ma's running mate, nor would he obstruct Ma from running. Approached by reporters for comment on the report, Wang said yesterday that he was still thinking over the matter and soliciting opinions from grassroots supporters in southern Taiwan. After Ma invited Wang to be his running mate on May 9, Wang told Ma that he would give him an answer before the party's national convention on June 24.

■ Travel
TRA offers anniversary trips
The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) is inviting 60 married couples who met on trains to take part in a two day, one night trip to Hualien, as part of celebrations marking the 120th anniversary of its founding, officials said yesterday. The "second honeymoon" journey will cover free rides from Taipei to Hualien on June 26, returning on June 27, with each participant only needing to pay NT$3,500 for a Hualien package tour covering meals, accommodation, tour bus fares, admission fees to scenic spots and insurance, the officials said. Each couple will be presented with a commemorative album and certificate during a candle-lit meal set for the night of June 26, they said. Eligible couples who are interested in participating should sign up before May 30 by sending a registration form, including the story of their railway romance, along with a photo and copies of their identification cards to the company by e-mail, post or fax, officials said.

■ Nature
Ranger rescues kingfisher
A ruddy kingfisher was saved at a forest park in Taitung yesterday after it flew into a bird net while trying to flee from a hawk. A ranger in the Dulanshan Forest Park, in which the kingfisher was caught, said he was alerted by the bird's cries. The bird is commonly seen in the East and Southeast Asian region, ranging from South Korea and Japan in the north to south in the Philippines and west to China and India. The bird migrates from the Philippines to Japan's Ryukyu islands in summer. Normally it only flies along the eastern coast of Taiwan without traveling inland, the ranger said, speculating that the accidental tourist might have made a detour to the forest park looking for food. The bird was released after being fed.


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