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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ FAIR TRADE

Condom hairbands?

A woman complained that the hairbands she bought from a department store in China were made with condoms, a newspaper reported yesterday. The Taichung woman, surnamed Hsu, bought three packets of hairbands for 6 yuan (US$0.80) from a store in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, last year, the Apple Daily reported. Hsu began to use the hairbands recently, but found that they snapped after being used two or three times and made her scalp itchy. When Hsu tore open the dark velvet covering the elastic band, she found that it looked like a cut-up condom. Hsu has asked the Taichung City Government to convey her complaint to Chinese authorities.



■ POLITICS

Ma voters in US on the way

At least 2,200 supporters of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the New York area will return to Taiwan next month to vote, a source said on Sunday. The supporters from the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are expected to return to Taiwan in six groups beginning on March 14 for the election on March 22, a group spokesperson said. A ceremony was held at a Chinese restaurant in Flushing in New York on Sunday evening, where Ma Ke-jen (馬克任), a New York-based KMT adviser; Yu Chin-shan (于金山), a chairman-elect of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in New York; and Huang Ying-han (黃英漢), chairman of the Taishan Chinese Clan Association, presented supporters' flags -- with the KMT emblem printed on them -- to leaders of the 2,200 supporters.



■ GOVERNMENT

Web site finally offline

The Ministry of Education yesterday apologized to the public after one of its Web sites was hacked and laced with thousands of pornographic pictures for nearly a month before action was taken. The pictures reportedly dominated the Web site, which contained videos of recommended exercise routines for students. The Department of Physical Education has shut down the site, saying that the oversight was the result of a shortage of staff. Department head Lin Jer-hung (林哲宏) said the Taipei Physical Education College had been commissioned to maintain the link that contains the video clips. "It could be that the [college's] students in charge of the link were not familiar on how to maintain a Web site. The ministry will double its efforts to make sure there is no repeat [of the incident]," he said.



■ SOCIETY

228 walkers arrive Thursday

Aides of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday invited the public to mark the 61st anniversary of the 228 Incident on Thursday, when two groups walking along the east and west coasts meet in Taipei. The group on the west coast began on the nation's southern tip on Lunar New Year's Eve. The Taiwan Association of University Professors launched the second group in Taimali Township (太麻里), Taitung County, on Jan. 16. The western group will enter Taipei from Sijhih (汐止) in Taipei County and the eastern group from Banciao (板橋) in Taipei County. They will meet at the Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, where a rally will be held to commemorate the 1947 massacre. The theme of the event is "Love, trust and praying for Taiwan." Other than Hsieh and his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), no politicians have been invited to the event.
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