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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Politics
Fire kills Japanese boy
A fire broke out in a Keelung Road highrise in Taipei last night. Half of the city's firefighting force was mobilized to fight the fire, cable television reported. As of press time, the fire was under control. Witnesses were reported by local television media as saying that an explosion was heard at 5:30pm. Soon after, smoke appeared from a 15th floor apartment believed to be owned by a Japanese couple. The body of a six-year-old Japanese child was found by firefighters, while six injured residents were sent to Taipei Medical University Hospital. "The child was mentally disabled, and did not follow the mother out of the burning apartment," a firefighter told TV reporters, who said the child was found dead in bed. Hospital spokesman Oung Ya-ling (翁亞泠) confirmed that five individuals had been admitted, including the dead child's mother and two-year-old sister. The wounded were all in fair condition. A firefighter said that language difficulties contributed to the delay in rescuing the boy. The cause of the fire was unclear.

■ Politics
US officials tour the nation
Three members of the US House of Representatives are currently visiting Taiwan, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat, who arrived in the country on Sunday, will visit President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the Taiwan branch of US-based Texas Instruments, and American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young during his stay. He will also meet with leaders from various fields to exchange views on bilateral ties between Taiwan and the US, cross-strait relations, and regional and military security in Asia. Johnson will also ride the high speed rail to Taichung and Tainan, the official said. Meanwhile, G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from North Carolina and Donna Christensen, a Virginia Democrat, arrived in Taipei yesterday for their first visit to the nation. They will meet various officials and visit the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau, the Southern Taiwan Science Park and the navy's Kidd-class destroyers.

■ Society
Millions yet to file returns
More than 50 percent of taxpayers have yet to file their income tax returns, with only four working days left before Thursday's deadline, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. As of Friday, only 2.49 million out of a total of 5.2 million taxpayers had filed their tax returns, ministry officials said. Of those filers, 809,545 have filed their returns in the traditional manner at tax offices, 249,603 filed via a bar code system and another 1.44 million filed their returns over the Internet, the officials said.

■ Health
Dentist warns on dentures
Dentures made with cheap metal will harm their wearers in the long term, a dentist warned yesterday amid reports that many local dentists use poor quality false teeth made in China. Hsu Chi-chih, a dentist and associate professor at the Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung, said that false teeth used to be made with alloy and covered with a porcelain or ceramic crown to make them look like real teeth. The alloy used for the inner part of false teeth is usually made with gold and platinum, which are stable and closely compatible with the gums of the wearers. As gold and platinum are expensive, Hsu said, some dentures are being made with a cheap alloy of beryllium, chromite and nickel, which is half the price of gold and platinum. However, these may release harmful metal isotopes, Hsu said.


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