■HEALTH
Doctor visit figure rising
Taiwanese visited the doctor or hospital an average of 15 times last year, Bureau of National Health Insurance statistics showed yesterday. The figure marks a record-high since the National Health Insurance scheme was launched in 1995. The bureau said the increase was because of the rapidly aging population. Visits for kidney disease treatment recorded the fastest growth — 13.9 percent over the past 10 years, said bureau Vice President Lee Cheng-hua (李丞華). National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance spokeswoman Eva Teng (滕西華) said the growing number of outpatient visits reflected an abuse of medical resources. Teng said patients who need checkups usually need to make three outpatient visits — one to schedule the examination, one for the checkup and a third for the results. Teng said hospitals should only require patients showing abnormalities in their tests to return for further diagnosis, while notifying those with normal results by telephone, e-mail or post.
■GOVERNMENT
Ministry official dies in PRC
A Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau official who traveled to Beijing with five colleagues to attend meetings on cross-strait cooperation in fighting drug crime died suddenly on Thursday at his hotel. Preliminary investigations attributed the death of 55-year-old Huang Chien-cheng (黃建成), who had worked at the ministry for 29 years, to a massive heart attack. The ministry has arranged for Huang’s family to travel to Beijing. It said Huang and his colleagues from the Drug Crime Prevention Department traveled to Xiamen on Monday at the invitation of the Xiamen City Government for a meeting on joint efforts to crack down on cross-strait drug crime. The group proceeded to Beijing two days later for a meeting on the same topic. Huang was nicknamed the “ascetic monk” for his devotion to his work.
■POLITICS
Chiu may reconsider lawsuit
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) yesterday said she would consider withdrawing a lawsuit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chin-hua (李慶華) if Lee promised to stop his violent behavior at the legislature. Chiu filed a lawsuit against Lee that claims he verbally assaulted her on Wednesday during a legislative committee meeting. A shouting match broke out between the two when Chiu interrupted Lee several times during his turn to speak. In retaliation, Lee called Chiu a “shrew” who lacked proper upbringing. After an exchange of insults, Chiu walked up to Lee and slapped him on the left cheek. Chiu yesterday said she was “provoked.” Lee accused Chiu and other DPP legislators of assaulting him. Lee later that day filed a lawsuit against Chiu for “harming him and smearing him in public.”
■ HEALTH
Taiwanese wins award
Academia Sinica member Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信) has won the International Recognition Award by the European Association for the Study of the Liver, becoming the first Taiwanese to receive the award. The award ceremony took place yesterday at the EASL headquarters in Copenhagen. Chen, a former dean of National Taiwan University’s College of Medicine, has carried out extensive research on hepatitis B. Chen and his team have contributed to understanding infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the early detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and the prevention of HBV infection.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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