■ Politics
Premier confirms promotion
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday confirmed that deputy minister of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Winston Dang (陳重信) will be promoted to become the minister of the agency, a post which was left vacant after former minister Chang Kow-lung (張國龍) resigned along with former premier Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) Cabinet last month. Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) will serve as the deputy chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Chang said. Minister without Portfolio Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) will double as the chairwoman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, he said.
■ Travel
UK visa changes on the way
Starting next month, all applicants for a UK visa will have to provide fingerprint scans and personal digital photos, the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) announced yesterday. The British government is introducing the collection of biometric data for all visa applicants worldwide, it added. The new measures will start on July 26 and all applicants will have to apply for a visa in person at the BTCO so their photo can be taken and they can be fingerprinted. BTCO director Michael Reilly said that biometric visas provide a higher standard of security and will in time make entry clearance into the UK simpler and easier. The changes will help improve security checks and prevent fraudulent visa use and the abuse of the UK's immigration and asylum system, he said.
■ Health
Diverse treatments popular
Over half of the country's families have tried Chinese medicine, Western medicine and folk therapy as medical treatment options have become more diversified, a National Cheng Kung University hospital official said on Wednesday. Huang Ying-hsiang (黃盈翔) said that a study on the medical treatment of 2,000 families around the country found that nearly half of rural families and nearly two-thirds of urban families have sought the three different forms of treatment. Western medicine is still the mainstream therapy although traditional Chinese medicine has become the next-most commonly sought after treatment while the use of alternative therapies have also become popular. The results of a survey conducted in 2003 showed that 75 percent of respondents said they would be willing to seek at least one kind of alternative therapy. Those who have received higher education, are middle class and in poor health, and women suffering from anxiety, chronic pain or urinary problems, are more likely to seek alternative therapy, the study found.
■ Society
Drunk driving killing more
Drunk driving has become the No. 1 cause of deaths on public roads, according to statistics in a report released by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday. The ministry said 727 people died last year as a result of drunk driving-related road accidents. The report pointed out that in 2001, drunk driving ranked third among all causes of road deaths before becoming the second leading cause in 2002. Since 2004, the number of road accidents due to drunk drinking has increased about 30 percent each year from 2,502 in 2004 to 2,999 last year, accounting for 16.7 percent and 36.5 percent of annual road traffic accidents respectively. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving also rose from 454 in 2004 to 547 in 2005, and to 727 last year.
■ Entertainment
Station to shoot 100 films
Videoland Movie Channel, the country's first cable television channel dedicated to showing Chinese-language films, announced yesterday that it will set aside NT$1 billion (US$30.2 million) to produce 100 digital films over the next five years. Company president Hu Kuan-chen (胡冠珍) told reporters that her company would also spend millions to recruit writing talent. Hu, 38, is a former actress who has starred in 18 films. She made the announcement two days after the channel celebrated its 15th anniversary. Her deputy, Yao Ching-kang (姚慶康) -- who has written 36 plays -- said Videoland would begin to shoot films in different genres in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China this year, and that the company would place more emphasis on good screenplays than on big name stars.
■ Education
Smart house unveiled
National Cheng Kung University yesterday launched an innovative "house of quality life" that brings together advanced technology, user-friendly interfaces and creative interior designs to present a vision of a better living space, the Tainan-based university said. Kevin Yang (楊家輝), director of the university's Institute of Computer and Communications Engineering, explained that the house was the result of a collaboration between seven departments and institutes, and was representative of the university's interdisciplinary capabilities. The house features flexible walls and partitions, a wireless sensing network, a large 3D display, user-oriented lighting and appliance control, and "virtual" windows that can remember user preferences and which adjust automatically to favor "comfortable" conditions, the university said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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