■ Politics
DPP reshuffles officials
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced a reshuffle of senior officials in response to the upcoming presidential campaign. DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the party's two deputy secretaries-general -- Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) and Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) -- would both step down. Their positions will be filled by Hsu Jen-tu (許仁圖), director of DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) southern campaign office, and former director of the DPP's Taichung County district headquarters Fang Sheng-mao (方昇茂), Lin said. Hsu is expected to be responsible for policy coordination and communication between the party and Hsieh's campaign headquarters while Fang is expected to reinforce the DPP's organizational ability.
■ Immigration
Aid for trafficking victims
The government will devote more financial and human resources to helping nonprofit organizations provide shelter and other social services to human trafficking victims, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced last week. Under orders from a Cabinet inter-agency task force on human trafficking and smuggling, the Ministry of the Interior, under which the NIA is a subordinate agency, and the Council of Labor Affairs plan to meet with local-level governments to better understand the living conditions of trafficking victims living in shelters and security at nonprofit organizations offering refuge to them, an NIA press release said. The government will then support these organizations in areas where they presently lack resources or know-how, the release read.
■ Politics
KMT criticizes CEC
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip slammed the Central Election Commission (CEC) at a press conference yesterday for setting Jan. 12 as the date for the next legislative election. "We suspect the CEC had ulterior motives because it set the date without prior consultation with lawmakers," KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said. KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) said legislative elections had always taken place in the first half of December as the CEC needed time to work out its financial accounts before the year ended. "The CEC has to give us an explanation for delaying the election date," Chou said. KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) alleged that the date had been set at the request of the Democratic Progressive Party because a fortune-teller had said it would win if the elections were held on that day.
■ Politics
Ma denies Lin meeting
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday dismissed media speculation that he had met Uni-President Group chief executive officer Jason Lin (林蒼生) on Sunday night to ask him to be his running mate in the presidential election. Ma was responding to a report that appeared in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday, which said he had secretly met Lin in Tainan on Sunday night. "I did not visit [Lin] yesterday [on Sunday]. I was very surprised when I read the report in the newspaper. I went to Tainan and Kaohsiung yesterday [on Sunday] [but] did not visit anyone from Uni-President Group," Ma said in Taipei. "At this point, we are working hard to find the best candidate. We should do more and say less," he said when asked about his choice of a running mate.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese