■ SOCIETY
Ministry releases statistics
A total of 7,625,000 people, including 4.5 million Taiwanese, entered and exited the country last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percent, the Ministry of the Interior reported yesterday. The country’s population stood at 22.946 million at the end of last November. Another 2.47 million people who entered or exited the country last year were foreign nationals, followed by 318,000 residents of Hong Kong or Macau and 260,000 Chinese citizens, the ministry said. Citizens of China, Hong Kong and Macau are routinely classified separately from other foreign nationals in statistical surveys and covered by a separate legal framework. Meanwhile, the ministry said 674,000 Taiwanese lived abroad for most of last year, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier. Of these, 45 percent were female and 55 percent male. Last year, 561,000 people who are not Taiwanese and did not apply for household registrations lived in Taiwan for most of the year, marking a year-on-year increase of 8.3 percent. Of these, 66 percent were females and 34 percent males.
■ HEALTH
Team departs for Honduras
A mobile medical team is set to depart for Honduras on Sept. 29 on a two-week medical service mission, one of 19 missions planned to strengthen bonds with the nation’s allies, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) said yesterday. The mobile medical team, to be composed of surgeons, physicians, pharmacists and nurses from the Taipei-based Cardinal Tien Center and Taichung-based China Medical University Hospital, will provide medical care and exchange views on clinical experiences and techniques with physicians in Honduras, ICDF secretary-general Chen Lien-chun (陳連軍) said. Meanwhile, Chen said, a team from Taipei Medical University’s Wan Fang Hospital left on Saturday for the Marshall Islands on a two-week mission. The ICDF chief said the foundation expects to organize 19 mobile medical teams to 12 diplomatic allies this year to promote friendship through medical cooperation. To date, 11 teams have visited 10 allies, benefiting more than 15,000 patients in those countries. Participating hospitals around the country include Changhua Christian Hospital, the Chi Mei Foundation Medical Center and Mackay Memorial Hospital, it said.
■ agriculture
COA lauds diplomacy plan
Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said yesterday that “agricultural diplomacy” was one of the most effective and cost-effective approaches to cement relations with the country’s allies. Chen, who accompanied Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) on a visit to Swaziland earlier this month, made the remarks after concluding the trip they made to attend the 40th anniversary of Swaziland’s independence from Britain and the 40th birthday of King Mswati III. Chen said that with 45 percent of the country covered by forests and woodlands, 70 percent of Swaziland’s population engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Wood, paper and sugar form the main economic lifeline of the country. Taiwan, with ample talent in those areas, could provide technical assistance to the country, he said. Most farms in Swaziland cultivate sugar cane, tangerines, corn, grains, pineapples and cotton. As corn is the main staple in the southern African country, Taiwan’s agricultural technical team has focused its efforts on helping the country grow the crop on a large scale, Chen said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai