■ HEALTH
Enteroviruses top bug list
Enteroviruses topped the list of infectious diseases affecting Taipei school campuses last year, with 2,010 cases reported, Taipei City health officials said yesterday. Enteroviruses are spread by direct contact with secretions from an infected person or by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. Infected persons usually develop either a flu-like illness with a fever and muscle aches or a rash. Health authorities advise students to wash their hands, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly to avoid infectious illnesses.
■ HEALTH
Cards contain carcinogen
Excessive levels of the carcinogenic chemical formaldehyde were found in 47 percent of playing cards surveyed recently, the Consumers' Foundation officials said yesterday. Of a total of 55 playing cards sampled, 26 were found to contain formaldehyde residue ranging from between 122.7 parts per million (ppm) to 1,691 ppm, much higher than the limit of 75 ppm set by the government for the chemical, the officials said. Sixteen, or 61.5 percent, of the substandard products were made in China, they said. Formaldehyde is widely used as an industrial fungicide, germicide and disinfectant. It has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a carcinogen. In light of the popularity of card games during the Lunar New Year holiday, officials urged consumers to avoid using cards that have a pungent smell because they are likely to contain formaldehyde.
■ POLITICS
Chen visits islet
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday visited Hsiaochiu (小坵), a small islet off the Matsu Islands, to review military forces stationed there. It was the first time Chen had set foot on the islet on his third visit to the Wuchiu (烏坵) chain. Chen, who arrived by helicopter, attended the inauguration of a parking apron in Hsiaochu. He also handed out red envelopes to troops and residents. Chen visited the disputed Spratly Islands (南沙群島) on Saturday, inspecting a recently completed airstrip.
■ POLITICS
No tax decision yet
Amid speculation that the government is considering adjusting business and income taxes, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday said he would not make a final decision until after the Lunar New Year holiday. Chang said that the government began mapping out a comprehensive taxation reform plan in August as the Statute for Upgrading Industries (促進產業升級條例) will expire next year. The Ministry of Finance is working on two proposals to adjust business tax and income tax returns. Chang rejected speculation that the measure was politically motivated. Chang said the taxation reform package was aimed at building a sustainable economy and fair society, not at boosting his party's chances in next month's presidential election.
■ DIPLOMACY
Minister cancels trip
Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) has decided to cancel a trip to Paraguay because of the "disclosure" of his itinerary by the media, a ministry official said yesterday. Liu Ching-jen (劉慶仁), director of the Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations, said that Tu was scheduled to leave today for a 15-day visit to Paraguay but called off the trip because "some important details of his itinerary" had been leaked.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai