■ HEALTH
Taichung City offers chickens
The Taichung City Government will start selling free-range chickens raised on organic feed on a trial basis from next month, Environmental Protection Department chief Lee Li-teh (李立德) said yesterday. Lee said the chickens would not contain any antibiotic residue or growth hormones and would be marketed over the Internet. The chickens are the result of a two-year experiment on a local farm, raising chickens on table scraps provided by Lee’s department. During the promotional period, each chicken will cost NT$450 and only 50 chickens will be sold per month, Lee said during a news conference with the Taichung City Farmers Association. The chickens take more than six months to raise in order to ensure their meat is tasty, he said.
■ DIPLOMACY
ICDF looking for volunteers
The Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) is seeking 90 volunteers to take part in humanitarian missions to the nation’s diplomatic allies. Over the past 14 years, ICDF has sent more than 400 volunteers on long-term and short-term medical, agriculture, financial and environmental projects. Volunteers must be at least 20 years old, a Republic of China citizen, have a college degree or five years’ work experience in a related field. English-speaking ability is preferred. Volunteers will receive three months of training, a roundtrip ticket and a monthly stipend between US$400 and US$700, depending on their posting. Applications are being accepted until Monday.
■ POLITICS
Officials seek special status
Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (?]) and other Tainan politicians called on the Executive Yuan yesterday to merge the city and county and upgrade them to a special municipality. They talked to Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) yesterday, but did not receive a commitment. Liu said the government would approve applications of county and city mergers in accordance with the Local Government Act (地方制度法). Hsu said the government’s plan to establish three special municipalities — Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Taichung County/City — and 15 counties would hurt Tainan County and Tainan City. “Tainan County and Tainan City have been marginalized in the past,” he said. “Kaohsiung developed fast because of Kaohsiung Harbor, and Taichung’s growth was a result of the [former] provincial government. Tainan, however, has been oppressed by politics.” Su said upgrading the status of Tainan County and City would facilitate unity in the country because “they are the origins of the country’s culture and history.”
■ POLITICS
Kang takes office
Newly elected Independent Legislator Kang Shih-ju (康世儒) assumed office yesterday and joined the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU) caucus. Caucus whip Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤) said the NPSU would continue to oppose wrangling between the pan-blue and pan-green camps. Kang was elected in a March 14 by-election in Miaoli after he beat Chen Luan-ying (陳鑾英), wife of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Lee Yi-ting (李乙廷). Kang, chief of Chunan Township (竹南), gave up his KMT membership to run in the by-election. Lee, who was elected as a first-term lawmaker in January last year, lost his seat on Dec. 10 after the Taichung branch of the High Court rejected his appeal of a Miaoli District Court conviction on vote buying.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
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