■ SOCIETY
Brothers to realize dream
Two brothers who have long suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease, will leave for New York to see the Statue of Liberty today. Teenagers Tseng Yi-kai (曾奕凱) and Tseng Yi-chi (曾奕棋) suffer from the inherited fatal disorder, which leads to a rapid loss of muscle strength and atrophy of muscular tissue. The brothers have long wished to visit the famous New York City landmark, which for them symbolizes freedom -- the thing they long for the most as they are confined to a wheelchair and are entirely dependent on other people. Paragon Investment Managers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Airlines and the New York City branch of the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation have worked together to help the brothers realize their long-held dream.
■ EXHIBITIONS
Costume show opens
Fans of Peking Opera have an opportunity to see costumes and designs at an exhibition held at the Taipei Costume Cultural Center that opened yesterday and ends on Oct. 4. The exhibition features the works of actor-turned-designer Lee Chih-chi (李志奇) and a collection of props and costumes made by Lee's late father, Lee Huan-chun (李環春), a well-known actor in the field. Through the exhibition, Lee Chih-chi wants to share the charm of the ancient Chinese tradition and honor his father. The exhibition also displays a collection of costumes by the elder Lee, of which many items are more than half a century old and survived the Cultural Revolution. Headdresses and accessories used by Peking Opera actors are also on display, the Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said.
■ DIPLOMACY
Chen Chu visits Hachioji
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) visited a Japanese electronics firm yesterday in Hachioji, a satellite of Tokyo, and was "deeply impressed" by its high-tech development. Chen, who arrived in Japan on Friday, was there to boost relations with the city of Hachioji, which established sisterhood ties with Kaohsiung in November last year. Chen hailed Hachioji's transformation from a city of contract manufacturers to one now focused on research and development, expressing hope that Kaohsiung could follow suit. Chen, who was heading a 39-member delegation of city government officials, said Kaohsiung hoped to strengthen exchanges with Hachioji -- the 23rd city to establish sisterhood ties with Kaohsiung.
■ CRIME
Cosmetics scam uncovered
The Taichung branch of the Ministry of Justice on Friday busted MOTIF, a cosmetics company that pretended it was an Australian firm. Having opened a number of stores nationwide, the company also claimed it was importing its products from Australia. The bureau determined that the products were in reality being produced at an underground factory in Taichung Country. It also found that the products contained banned ingredients such as the antibiotic Lincomycin and Dexamethasone, a steroid. One of its products, which the company claimed could cure acne, retailed for NT$1,800 (US$54) while costing less than US$1 to produce, the bureau said. The bureau said company employees would be charged with violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (藥事法) and fraud. The bureau has also contacted health authorities to ensure that the products are removed from the shelves.
■ GOVERNMENT
EPA asks for computers
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is again calling for donations of second-hand computers that can be given to children living in the country's remote areas. Cheng Chi-pu (鄭啟璞), an EPA section chief, said that to narrow the digital gap between the rural and urban areas, the administration has been running the donation program since 2005. In the last two years, the EPA has distributed 1,500 and 3,800 computers respectively, Cheng said, adding that this year's goal is to send out another 3,800 second-hand computers. Those who want to donate computers can get more information on the Web at recycle.cier.edu.tw.
■ GOVERNMENT
Ministry to focus on parks
Lin Chin-rong (林欽榮), the new head of the Ministry of the Interior's Construction and Planning Agency, said that he will raise the profile of national parks and focus on national land-use planning. Speaking after assuming his new post, Lin said that the country has beautiful national parks and the first national ocean park will soon be established on the outlying Taiwan-held island of Tungsha (東沙). The agency will increase its publicity for national parks as part of its efforts to attract more local and foreign tourists, he said. Stressing the importance of land resources, Lin said that much greater attention will be paid to national land-use planning in the future. Existing policies on urban redevelopment are heading in the right direction, he said, adding that he would focus on implementing the policies and looking for areas where the agency's regulations could be improved, he added.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,