■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.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese