■ HEALTH
Students catch dysentery
Three more students from Taichung City's Beitun Elementary School have been diagnosed with dysentery after an outbreak at the school last week, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday. So far, 14 students have been diagnosed with dysentery. The new cases occurred before the school's students received preventive medicine, officials said, adding that the outbreak had been contained.
■ POLITICS
Lu hopes Vatican ties stable
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) expressed the hope yesterday that the Vatican would not forge ties with China at the expense of Taiwan. Speaking at an ordination ceremony for Hung Shan-chuan (洪山川), archbishop of the Taipei Diocese, Lu said she understands that the Holy See is very concerned about the large number of Catholics in China and is maintaining close contact with authorities in Beijing. Lu said twice in her speech that the Holy See should not establish diplomatic relations with China at the expense of Taiwan, saying she was confident that the Vatican would continue to take care of Taiwanese Catholics. The vice president also expressed hope that diplomatic ties between Taiwan and the Holy See would strengthen. Hung also promised to do his best to promote Taiwan's diplomatic efforts.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Forum looks at architecture
The Taipei City Government and German Trade Office Taipei will hold a two-day forum on the topic of "green" architecture at the National Taiwan Science Education Center next Friday and Saturday. The organizers will invite around 15 experts and academics from Taiwan and other countries to discuss environmentally friendly architecture from the perspectives of site maintenance, preserving historical sites and aesthetics. The city's Department of Cultural Affairs said the forum was a chance for the public to learn more about energy conservation, sustainable development and environmentally friendly buildings. To promote green architecture, the department promised to adhere to high environmental standards for the City Museum of Taipei, the Taipei Art Center and the Taipei Center for Pop Music -- all facilities still in the planning stages. The forum is free and English translation will be provided.
■ HEALTH
Woman to get dentures
Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) promised to help a Peruvian woman suffering from elephantiasis receive free dentures. The woman recently underwent surgery at Eda Hospital in Kaohsiung County to remove 47kg of swollen tissue from her leg. Yang made the promise on Saturday during a visit to Maria Rosario Razzeto Tasso, who endured 26 years with her swollen right leg and is recovering from her surgery at the hospital. Accompanied by Eda Hospital superintendent Chen Hung-chi (陳宏基), Yang presented NT$20,000 to Razzeto in celebration of the success of the operation, which took eight hours. As Razzeto has lost all but one of her teeth, Yang promised to raise funds to help her get free dentures in Taiwan and turn over a new leaf in her life. Yang also praised staff members of Eda Hospital -- which took up the woman's case on humanitarian grounds -- for their efforts to provide medical assistance to Razzeto and helping raise Taiwan's profile in the international medical community.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods