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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ EVENTS

Bastille Day to kick off

The French Association in Taiwan (AFT) is organizing its annual Bastille Day celebration to commemorate France’s National Day on July 14. The “Grand Ball Fest” will take place on Saturday July 12 at Taipei’s Huashan Culture Center (華山創意文化園區) on Bade Road from 6.30pm to 2am. The ball, which is open to all, will feature a buffet, two bars and a disc jockey, as well as live music from Taichung Latino band Calentico. Tickets are NT$250 for AFT members, NT$300 for non-members and NT$200 for children aged between 12 and 18. For those interested, more details about the event can be obtained on the AFT Web site at www.taiwanaccueil.com



■ HEALTH

Enterovirus cases down

Forty-three serious cases of enterovirus were reported last week, down from 65 the previous week, a Centers for Disease Control official said yesterday. Despite the decline and based on previous years, the public should still be on guard against a possible small outbreak once schools reopen in September following the summer vacation, said Chou Chih-hao (周志浩), deputy director of the centers’ Department of Health. Chou warned that kindergartens and daycare centers should also remain on high alert as they do not have a summer vacation. Adults and especially children should wash their hands often to avoid contracting the enterovirus, he said.



■ DIPLOMACY

Taiwan gives to Panama

Ambassador to Panama Hou Ping-fu (侯平福) presented US$2.6 million to the Panamanian government on Friday to help the Central American country build a hospital in an impoverished area of Panama City. After accepting the donation, Panamanian Minister of Health Rosario Turner expressed gratitude to Hou, saying that establishing the Hospital de Panama Este in an eastern suburb of the city was one of the ministry’s main construction projects. “So far, 24.6 percent of the hospital has been completed,” Turner said, adding that once it is inaugurated, the hospital, equipped with advanced facilities, is expected to provide some 342,000 local residents with a wide range of medical services, including general patient care, surgery, outpatient treatment and emergency care, as well as women’s and children’s healthcare. She said the establishment of the hospital would assuage a chronic shortage of medical care for residents in the area. Hou said the donation was aimed at helping Panama improve its medical care and further enhance bilateral relations.



■ DIPLOMACY

Taiwan funds water project

The Taiwanese government has donated more than US$370,000 to Honduras to help fund water supply projects in the Central American country’s rural areas, a report issued on Saturday by Honduras-based Radio America said. Accepting the money a day earlier, Honduran International Cooperation Minster Karen Zelaya also appealed to government and non-government organizations worldwide to sponsor projects promoting health and wellbeing for the Honduran people. The fund is to be used for improving water supplies and sanitation systems in impoverished provinces and several immigrant reception centers in the country.


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