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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ EVENTS

Autistic musicians to perform

People will get a chance to enjoy the sounds of talented autistic musicians from around the nation in a concert at Taipei Main Station on Jan. 19. The "Resplendent Starlight" concert, sponsored by the Foundation for Autistic Children and Adults in Taiwan, will be held at the station's performance hall. The concert will feature clarinet, drum troupe, choir and taiko drum performances, among others. Also performing will be the autistic pianist duo of Concern For Life Award-winner Lee Shang-hsuen (李尚軒) and Chuang Tien-yue (莊天岳). The concerts will be free of charge and are part of the Taiwan Railway Administration's policy of promoting public interest activities. A total of 300 free tickets for the concert are now available at the Taipei Main Station service counter.



■ BUSINESS

CEPD mulls airport project

The government is considering setting up a special area at Taoyuan International Airport for transiting foreign businesspeople, where they could meet Taiwanese partners without actually entering Taiwan. Officials at the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said that a feasibility report submitted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council at the request of the CEPD favored the establishment of such an area. The report said the special area should have an exhibition room, a leisure area, a shopping area, a beauty parlor and facilities for speedy physical checkups. CEPD officials said they would initiate a pilot project at Taoyuan Airport to accommodate foreign businesspeople whose tight schedules might not permit them to enter Taiwan for a short stopover.



■ SOCIETY

CLA calls for safety

The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) on Friday called on high-rise window cleaning companies to focus on safety to prevent further deaths. Lin Chin-chi (林進基), director of the CLA's Department of Labor Inspection, said that between 2000 and the end of last year, nine mishaps involving window cleaning pulley systems had occurred in Taiwan, resulting in 11 deaths. To prevent further tragedies, Lin urged companies to implement certification programs that ensure that their equipment meets standards and to hold regular inspections of equipment after installation at cleaning projects. He called on companies to notify the local CLA labor inspection office of the time and place of their work projects prior to beginning work and to provide all necessary safety equipment and gear to workers.



■ HEALTH

DOH issues warning

Taiwanese traveling to Southeast Asian countries should guard against mosquito bites after a recent increase in Chikungunya fever cases, a Department of Health (DOH) official said. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director Lin Ting (林頂) said the nation first reported the relatively rare viral fever in 2006, when a student from Singapore was found to be carrying the virus. Three cases were reported last year, two of which, involving an Indonesia maid and a man returning to Taiwan to visit family members, were discovered in the latter half of last month. Taipei County health officials said the DOH notified them on Thursday that the Indonesian maid was suffering from Chikungunya fever and immediately rushed to her employer's residence to take samples from the home and spray pesticides.
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