■ HEALTH
Bureau warns against treats
The Bureau of Health Promotion is reminding those watching their weight to avoid indulging in too many Moon Festival treats or to exercise more as the holiday approaches. Just one small, 60g mooncake can contain as many as 300 calories, the bureau said yesterday. The bureau suggests cutting back on one bowl of rice or walking briskly for one hour to compensate for each 60g mooncake consumed. The bureau warned consumers to be wary of pomelos as well. Although fruit is healthy, the popular treat that is a staple on the Moon Festival table contains more calories than most people suspect. The bureau said that just two segments of a pomelo can contain 60 calories and eating a whole jumbo pomelo can mean an extra 600 calories. This year's Moon Festival falls on Tuesday.
■ CULTURE
Confucius gets birthday bash
Taipei Confucian Temple is organizing a celebration of Confucius' 2,557th birthday, which falls on Friday next week, a temple official said yesterday. The temple will hold a cultural fair along Dalong Street by the temple on Thursday and Friday next week with exhibits on temples and archeological findings in Datong District, where the temple is located. A photo exhibit featuring the nation's Confucian temples will open at the Taipei temple on Thursday and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) will lead a ceremony the next day in honor of the "supreme teacher," the official said. Confucian groups from Japan, South Korea and Vietnam have been invited by the temple to take part in a seminar on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, the focus of which will be the impact of modernism on Confucianism and the future of Confucianism.
■ POLITICS
Nominees up for review
Lawmakers have reached a consensus on holding a vote next Thursday on whether to approve President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) nominations for the Judicial Yuan, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said on Tuesday after presiding over a consultative meeting of caucus whips from across party lines. The meeting agreed to hold three Committee of the Whole sessions to screen the nominees, with the Judicial Yuan presidential and vice presidential nominees to be screened today and the eight grand justice nominees to be screened tomorrow and on Wednesday, Wang said. The legislature plans to hold an extra session on Thursday to vote on the nominees, Wang said, adding that the vote on the Judicial Yuan presidential and vice presidential nominees would take place Thursday morning and the vote on the grand justice nominees would be held in the afternoon.
■ HEALTH
Officials push check-ups
The Taipei City Government yesterday encouraged residents to take advantage of Taipei Citizen Health cards and get free check-ups. The card, available since July, allows Taipei residents to receive a free health check-up after accumulating two card points by volunteering at local hospitals, receiving vaccines or attending forums on health-related issues. Card holders who earn 24 points are eligible for a free advanced health examination valued at NT$12,000 at any Taipei City Hospital branch, the city's Department of Health said. The department said only 27.8 percent of Taipei residents over the age of 65 visit their doctors for regular check-ups -- a figure the department hopes to raise through the points program. All registered Taipei residents are eligible for the card.
■ CRIME
Illegal butcher arrested
Prosecutors and police arrested a man yesterday during a raid on an illegal slaughter house in Tuku Township (土庫), Yunlin County. More than two tonnes of suspect beef, bones and offal were seized in four freezers in the slaughter house and in the house of the suspect, identified only by his surname, Wang. Investigators had been keeping tabs on Wang for nearly six months before staging the raid after being tipped off that Wang had been butchering sick cattle and selling them to meat wholesalers, vendors and meat processors. Wang was preparing to sell a large amount of the beef in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls next Tuesday, according to the police.
■ CRIME
Woman hides as man
Police have arrested a female criminal who has been on the run disguised as a man for eight years, press reports said yesterday. Chen Hui-fang (陳慧芳), 33, was convicted eight years ago of armed burglary and Internet fraud but failed to turn herself in to serve her sentence. Chen disguised herself so well that even her girlfriend did not know that "he" was a she. To convince her girlfriend that she was a man, Chen tied a fake penis -- a condom filled with cotton -- between her thighs, press reports said. Over the years, Chen continued to commit crimes and was caught once, but police released her after questioning. When she was caught again on Monday, police realized that Chen was using a fake ID card and did not "look like" a man, because Chen had no Adam's apple and had no hair on her upper lip. When police threatened to take Chen for a medical examination to clarify her sex, she admitted her identity.
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
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