■ HEALTH
Lens solution to be pulled
The Department of Health has warned the public to stop using a contact lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) immediately. The Complete MoisturePlus Multipurpose Solution made by AMO has been linked in the US with serious eye infections caused by the water-borne organism acanthamoeba. The infection can lead to the partial loss of vision or even blindness. There have been no reported cases of Acanthamoeba infections linked to the product in Taiwan yet, the department said, but users are advised to throw away the solution and visit their doctor if they notice symptoms such as redness, pain, teariness and sensitivity to light. AMO has agreed to a voluntary recall of the solution.
■ CRIME
`Drug dealers' arrested
Police in Kaohsiung said yesterday they had arrested 17 suspected drug dealers, six of whom are soldiers. The police officers said they also seized a small amount of ecstasy and ketamine from two of the suspects. One of the soldiers, surnamed Hung, who is expected to be given a dishonorable discharge from the army soon, is suspected of selling drugs in his barracks and while on leave, authorities said. The arrests came after three months of ongoing investigations, police said, adding that authorities would be continuing their investigation.
■ CRIME
Car theft solved
Two police officers solved a car theft case by chance yesterday when they stopped to help a broken down car on the side of the road in Taoyuan County. While on duty in Pateh, two officers spotted two men working on a sedan that had apparently broken down in an empty lot. The officers stopped to offer assistance and ran the car's license plate number through their computer, only to find that the car had been stolen. The two suspected thieves were taken into custody on the spot and the stolen vehicle was recovered, the police said.
■ EARTHQUAKE
Quake strikes south
A moderate earthquake struck the south at around noon yesterday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The Central Weather Bureau said that the epicenter of the magnitude 4.9 earthquake was located 17.2km west of Hengchun Seismological Station in Pingtung County at a depth of 58.7km. The tremor could be felt in the cities of Pingtung and Kaohsiung, as well as on Little Liuchiou, an islet off Pingtung.
■ SOCIETY
`Life warriors' visit Kinmen
A dozen "life warriors" who have been awarded the "Global Love for Life" award over the past several years for their perseverance in overcoming life's challenges planted seedlings on Taiwan's the island of Kinmen yesterday as a gesture symbolizing sowing seeds of hope for the world. Among the "life warriors" was Haregewoin Teferra, known as "Africa's Mother Theresa" for her compassionate devotion to the poor and needy in Africa, who was one of the 10 recipients of this year's "Global Love for Life" award. Other "life warriors" who have received the award over the past several years and who joined the tour to Kinmen included a 110-year-old woman from Singapore and the "Wheelchair Phoenix" from China.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods