■EMPLOYMENT
Retirement bill reviewed
The Legislative Yuan completed a preliminary review yesterday of a bill that would raise the mandatory retirement age prescribed in the Labor Standards Act from 60 to 65. The draft amendment, which cleared the legislature’s Sanitation, Environment, Social Welfare and Labor Affairs Committee, is still awaiting its second and third readings before it can be signed into law. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), a sponsor of the bill, said it is necessary to put back the retirement age of workers to strengthen the use of middle-aged and elderly human resources because the average life expectancy in Taiwan has increased to 76 and more older workers are staying in the labor market instead of retiring. The measure is also crucial to cope with the possible impact of the declining birth rate on the labor force, Yang said. Legislators Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) and Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), also of the KMT, said those who wish to retire early could still do so voluntarily even if the law is passed.
■CRIME
Bank founder indicted
Taipei prosecutors yesterday indicted Cosmos Bank founder and former chairman Hsu Sheng-fa (�?o) and 11 other bank staff on charges of embezzlement. Prosecutors requested a 10-year sentence for Hsu, while his son, former vice chairman Hsu Sen-rong (�?a), and daughter, former chairwoman Hsu Juan-juan (�?S), face eight and six years in prison respectively. The family’s lawyers issued a statement in response to the indictments saying that all transactions completed by Cosmos Bank and its sister corporation Cosmos Bills Finance Corp had followed proper procedures. The statement said that Hsu Sheng-fa had not directed any transactional activities at the bank and that government audits over the past years had found no irregularities. It said that all mortgage funds obtained by the bank had been used in investments that advanced the bank’s financial wellbeing and that interest incurred by these borrowed funds had been paid regularly by Cosmos’ parent group, Prince Corporate Group (太子關係企業).
■TOURISM
Cable car ceremony
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) officiated yesterday at a groundbreaking ceremony for a cable car system that will link Sun Moon Lake and the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village in Nantou County. Chang said the 1,825m long cable car system will help rejuvenate overall tourism development. The Sun Moon Lake Gondola, to be developed and operated by the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village under a build-own-operate project, is scheduled to be completed in 18 months at a cost of NT$720 million (US$23.76 million).
■HEALTH
Addicts center opens
The nation’s first employment service center for drug addicts who have undergone methadone treatment was inaugurated in National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan yesterday. Cheng Kung University Hospital officials said the center will help addicts find jobs to facilitate their return to a normal life. The hospital in conjunction with Tainan City government, and Tainan Prosecutors Office will run the center. Similar employment service centers will be set up at the Chi Mei Foundation Medical Center in Tainan County and Tainan Hospital in Tainan City in the future, the officials said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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