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Taiwan Quick Take

■ ECOLOGY
Partygoers HIV positive
Of the 43 men arrested by police for having a home sex party on Aug. 18 -- the same night that Typhoon Sepat hit Taiwan -- 16 subsequently tested positive for HIV, a statement released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Although condoms were found at the scene, having sex with multiple partners in a single night is still risky behavior, CDC Deputy Director Chou Chih-hao (周志浩) said. "This rate of HIV infection is similar to other sex party participants we have tested in the past," he said. In addition, 18 of the participants tested positive for syphilis, Chou said.

■ ECOLOGY
Park seeking crab minders
The Kenting National Park Administration has invited the public, particularly locals, to volunteer to help protect the area's land crabs, whose numbers have continued to decline because of changes to the environment. The park is home to the biggest number of species of terrestrial crabs in the nation, with the round-bodied, hairy-legged species, scientifically known as Cardisoma hirtipes, being the largest group. Its breeding season picks up around the Moon Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, with mother crabs leaving their terrestrial nests and making a perilous crossing of Highway 26 on their way to the sea to spawn. Many of the crabs are destroyed by cars on their way to the sea, administration officials said, prompting them to appeal to locals to volunteer to protect the crabs so the animals can reach the sea safely.

■ HEALTH
Drug submitted to US FDA
An innovative drug for diabetic ulcers developed by a Taiwanese biomedical research institution is about to be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a request for a permit for human testing, academic sources said on Thursday. The drug was developed by the government-funded Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB) and has now been transferred to a local pharmaceutical company, Microbio Biotechnology, so that it can continue the research and development process. All the ingredients of the combo drug are extracted from natural herbs and possess distinct curative effects for diabetic wounds but show none of the side-effects seen previously, the DCB said. If the drug is given a permit, it will be the first time that a Taiwanese-made drug has passed FDA reviews, and only the second time that a combo drug has been approved by the US drug administration, they said.

■ DIPLOMACY
Loans retrievable: MOFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will help retrieve bad loans from nations that have severed formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, MOFA spokesman David Wang (王建業) said yesterday. The Foreign Ministry would not sit idly by at a time when local banking institutions are having trouble retrieving loans granted to countries that later severed formal ties with Taiwan, Wang said. The spokesman was referring to a Chinese-language China Times report yesterday that quoted the Legislative Yuan Budget Center as indicating that Taiwan had incurred losses to the tune of NT$3.3 billion (US$100 million) from bad loans to nations that have severed formal diplomatic relations with the country. Wang said it was possible to retrieve the bad loans as all the loans were made via Taiwanese banks in contracts with clear terms.
■ CULTURE
Taipei to host Vietnam Day
The Taipei City Government will hold a Vietnam Culture Festival tomorrow in the Taipei 228 Memorial Park so that Vietnamese expats can celebrate Vietnamese Independence Day. The one-day event will feature traditional Vietnamese dance performances and folk songs, as well as activities including a jump-rope contest and "slow" cycling contest, in which the last contestant over the finish line wins, Taipei City's Department of Civil Affairs said. Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴), commissioner of the city's Department of Labor Affairs, yesterday lauded the more than 7,000 Vietnamese workers in the city for their contributions, and dedicated the festival to them. The festival will begin at the park 10:30am, and the department has invited all residents to experience the beauty of Vietnamese culture.

■ JUSTICE
Judicial nominees named
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday nominated incumbent Grand Justice Lai Ying-jaw (賴英照) as his candidate for president of the Judicial Yuan and another incumbent, Hsieh Tsai-chuan (謝在全), as his candidate for the body's vice president. The other six candidates for grand justice postions nominated by the president were Yeh Sai-ying (葉賽鶯), chairwoman of the Taiwan 21st Century Women's Association, Lin Hsi-yao (林錫堯), the chief prosecutor at the Supreme Court Prosecutors' Office, Chi Chi-ming (池啟明) of the Supreme Court, Tsai Ching-you (蔡清遊), president of Fuchien High Court Kinmen Branch, Liu Shing-i (劉幸義), a law professor at National Taipei University, Lee Chen-shan (李震山), a law professor at National Chung Cheng University, Hsu Chih-Hsiung (許志雄), Minister without Portfolio doubling as Minister of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs and Yeh Jiunn-rong, a law professor at National Taiwan University. The legislature will arrange a date for a confirmation vote on the list when it convenes its new session next Friday.

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