■ TOURISM
Amway employees arrive
Some 1,600 Amway (China) sales representatives arrived in Keelung Port yesterday — the third such group to visit Taiwan since March 16. Many of them opened umbrellas as soon as they disembarked from the cruise vessel Legend of the Seas, which sailed from Shanghai, because of the rainy weather. In addition to a welcoming party of hospitality girls dressed in traditional attire, the tourists were accosted by a protest group of local Falun Gong members, although no major incidents were reported. The group formed part of a total of 12,000 Amway (China) employees visiting Taiwan on nine cruise ships between this month and May. Apart from the nine groups, a liner owned by the Hong Kong-based Star Cruises is scheduled to arrive in Keelung on May 27, bureau officials said. From May to October, Star Cruises, which is the leading Asia-Pacific cruise operator, will also use Keelung as a home port for cruises to the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Okinawa.
■ HEALTH
Official finds fish fishy
The practice of allowing fish to nibble one’s feet — a beauty treatment offered at some hot springs — might not be hygienic, an Ilan County Government official said on Friday. Liu Yi-lien (劉宜廉), director of the county’s health bureau, said the treatment was introduced in Taiwan a few years ago and was popular in Japan and South Korea. But “there is no scientific data to substantiate the claims of its medical benefits, and in fact there could be a hygiene problem,” Liu said. He said people with skin ailments, sores or open wounds on their feet should not put their feet in hot springs because it could spread an infection. Some spa operators in Ilan have put hundreds of fish into their pools to nibble the feet of bathers, claiming that the toothless fish remove dead skin, give a pedicure and treat psoriasis and other ailments.
■ EDUCATION
Students make robots
Forty junior high and elementary school students put robots they created on public display in Taichung City yesterday prior to their departure for Finland, where they will attend the annual SciFest next month. A robot that plays piano, designed by Taichung City Municipal Shuang Shih Junior High School student Lai Hsuan-han (賴宣翰), drew the most attention yesterday. Lai said he had worked on robots since he was in elementary school and he expressed hope that he would one day make a robot that can play the piano better than a human. This year will be the second time Taiwan participates at the international festival of science, environment and technology aimed at middle and high school students, said Wu Chih-min (吳志銘), head of the My Robot Institute, which organized the Taiwanese delegation for the show.
■ CULTURE
Floating bookstore to visit
The Germany-registered passenger ship MV Doulos, known as the world’s largest floating bookstore, is scheduled to hold a book fair at the Kaohsiung Harbor from Thursday to April 28. This will be the last time the 95-year-old vessel holds a book exhibition at the harbor, said Chuo Kao-huei (卓高慧), a spokeswoman for the harbor administration. Chuo said the ship was slated to retire next year. The Doulos has visited more than 100 countries in Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, with the aim of selling books at low prices. The ship will also visit Hualien Harbor and Keelung Harbor.
RSS