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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ HEALTH

Student loses left testicle

The morning after having sex with his girlfriend, a 20-year-old college student woke up early the next morning with immense pain in his left testicle, the Liberty Times reported yesterday. He endured the pain until 9am when he discovered his testicle was swollen, said the report, adding that he was diagnosed as having “twisted his testicle.” The patient’s left testicle was removed as it had rotated 360 degrees and lacked proper blood circulation, the paper quoted Tainan Hospital urologist Hsieh Chia-hsing (謝嘉興) as saying. Hsieh said the injury usually occurred in boys aged 12 to 18. If the injury is operated on within six hours, 90 percent recover without having to have the testicle removed, he said.



■ CULTURE

Aborigines display works

Taipei City’s Indigenous Peoples Commission invited Aboriginal artists from around the nation to showcase their artworks in an Aboriginal craft fair today and tomorrow in front of the Red Theater in Ximending. The craft fair, which is being held from 2pm to 8pm features Aboriginal artwork, including accessories, colored glazes, mugs and bags. Dongi Alin (楊馨怡), commissioner of the department, said during a press conference yesterday that the artworks selected for the fair were authorized by the department as authentic Aboriginal works. The department began promoting government authorization of products from the Aboriginal cultural industry three years ago to protect the rights of both Aboriginal artists and consumers. Pu-u, an artist from the Tsou tribe, has created a series of items for the fair, from cups to key chains, with the image of a boar on them, which is a symbol of courage in Tsou culture.



■ WEATHER

Tropical storm brewing

A tropical storm formed off Taiwan yesterday at 2pm, the Central Weather Bureau said, adding that the chance of it affecting the nation this weekend is high. As of 6pm yesterday, tropical storm Fung-wong, which means “Phoenix” in Chinese, was 1,040km east of Ouluanbi (鵝鑾鼻), Pingtung County, bureau forecaster Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) said. Fung-wong was traveling west at a speed of 16kph, however the speed and direction of the storm may change in the course of the next 24 hours, Chen said. If it does hit the nation, its impact is predicted to be the most severe tomorrow and Monday. As Fung-wong was still early in its development, the bureau was unable to predict the amount of rainfall it may bring, Chen said. However, the bureau would keep a close eye on the tropical storm and announce any developments as soon as data becomes available, he said.



■ SOCIETY

Banciao celebrates landmark

The population of Banciao City (板橋), Taipei County, officially reached 550,000 yesterday, the municipal government’s Household Registry Office announced. The office held a special ceremony to mark the registration of the city’s 550,000th resident, a three-week old baby named Su Chih-yi (蘇芷儀). Banciao Mayor Chiang Hui-chen (江惠貞) attended the ceremony and presented gifts to the grandparents, who registered the baby boy at the office. The grandparents seemed surprised to hear the news and expressed happiness at the honor bestowed upon their first grandchild. Chiang said that Banciao’s population has grown slowly since reaching 540,000 in 1991, despite the completion of National Freeway No. 3 (Formosa Freeway), which has spurred growth in the nearby city of Tucheng (土城).

■ TOURISM

Foreign visits rise 5.6%

Nearly 2 million foreigners visited the country in the first six months of the year, 5.6 percent more than the same period last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said yesterday. Of the 1.91 million foreign nationals who visited from January through last month, Japanese made 550,000 visits, or 28.8 percent of the total, followed by Hong Kong and Macau residents with 302,000 and the US with 196,000. The report said 44.7 percent of the visits made by foreigners to Taiwan were for sightseeing, while 24.5 percent were on business. Meanwhile, Taiwanese made 4.33 million overseas trips during the same period, down 2 percent from the year earlier level. Hong Kong was the most popular transit point or main destination for Taiwanese travelers, with 1.47 million visits, or 33.9 percent of the total. The next most popular destinations were Japan and Macau, with 681,000 and 513,000 visits respectively, the report said. The number of visits to Macau fell 14.1 percent year-on-year, while visits to Vietnam grew the fastest at 23.8 percent, the report said.



■ DIPLOMACY

MOFA lauds ASEAN support

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the ASEAN’s statement lauding positive developments in relations across the Taiwan Strait in a communique signed at the regional body’s 41st ministerial meeting on Monday in Singapore. ASEAN also expressed its hope that cross-strait relations would continue to improve. In a press release, the ministry said that as a responsible stakeholder in the region, Taiwan has continuously advocated democracy as the cornerstone for stability and development in East Asia. Taiwan will continue to strive to improve cross-strait relations by engaging in further dialogue with Beijing, it said. As of end of last year, Taiwan’s trade with ASEAN countries exceeded US$60 billion. Taipei hopes to strengthen its multilateral ties with ASEAN countries and continue to work toward creating more prosperity in the area, the press release said.
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