■POLITICS
DPP-Wu talks continue
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday the party and its former secretary-general Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) have not reached a conclusion in ongoing talks to have him return to the party as secretary-general. After considering Wu’s seniority in the party and his rich experience in handling party affairs and organizing election campaigns, Tsai yesterday said she would like to ask for Wu’s help in the local government election at the end of the year. Tsai said she would make a formal announcement as soon as an agreement is reached.
■POLITICS
Ma mum on anniversary
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had no “plan” to speak on Saturday, the fourth anniversary of the enactment of China’s “Anti-Secession” Law. The Presidential Office would make its position known on that day, adding it would do so under the principle that “the sovereignty of the Republic of China is protected” and “Taiwan’s dignity is maintained,” Wang said. Wang made the remarks in response to a media inquiry about speculation that Ma would keep a low profile on this year’s anniversary. The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that Ma, who was vocal on the piece of legislation during his term as Taipei mayor and during his election campaign, would keep quiet on Saturday and have the Presidential Office issue a press release instead.
■POLITICS
NSB head ‘quits’ over health
The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed speculation that the recent resignation of National Security Bureau (NSB) director-general Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) resulted from a power struggle within the government’s intelligence branch. Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had approved Tsai’s resignation for health reasons and that Ma accepted the resignation with reluctance. To express his gratitude for Tsai’s contributions, Wang said Ma decided to confer Tsai a medal in the near future. Wang dismissed the theory that political infighting was behind Tsai’s resignation, saying that it was groundless and pure speculation. Wang said since Tsai had been hospitalized several times, their understanding was that Tsai tendered his resignation for health reasons. Wang said Tsai had offered to resign on several occasions, but Ma had refused to let him go. Regarding Tsai’s successor, Wang said Ma had not reached a decision.
■TRAVEL
Shoe check in effect
Flight passengers heading to the US from Taiwan are now required to take off their shoes and coats for safety inspections, effective at 9:30pm yesterday. Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said the Transportation Security Administration of the US Department of Homeland Security issued an emergency amendment on Monday requiring all passengers leaving for the US to start following the same safety inspection practice within 72 hours of the amendment being announced. In the past, the practice was only enforced when passengers were about to leave the US, not before they entered the US. Passengers are advised to arrive at the airport early to avoid delays, the CAA said. Electronic devices must be taken out of baggage for inspections as well.
■ENVIRONMENT
Twelve factories fined
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) last week used helicopters to capture photographic proof of air and water pollution by 12 factories in the Greater Taipei area, the agency told a press conference yesterday. From the air, EPA inspectors were able to shoot images of several factories along the Tahan River (大漢溪), the Taliaokeng River (塔寮坑溪) and in Wugu Township (五股), emitting air pollutants and dumping wastewater and solid wastes into the river. The violators received fines of NT$100,000 to NT$149,200, the EPA said.
■WEATHER
Cold front coming
A continental cold air mass is expected to move into the country, bringing showers to most parts of the island and sending temperatures down, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The bureau predicted that temperatures in northern, northeastern and central Taiwan could drop to as low as 11°C on Saturday and Sunday, with the daytime highs varying between 16°C and 21°C. Southern and southeastern Taiwan would see slightly warmer weather on those two days, with lows of 14°C to 15°C and highs of 20°C to 25°C.
■GOVERNMENT
No decision on postal bank
Chunghwa Post chairman Wu Min-yu (吳民佑) said the government had not reached a decision on Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Sean Chen’s (陳冲) proposal to turn the post office’s savings department into an independent postal bank. If the government does decide to set up a postal bank, it would only handle low-risk bank business, Wu said. He added that should Taiwan follow the examples of Japan and Germany, Chunghwa Post would remain the largest shareholder of the postal bank.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching