■ SOCIETY
Famine program launched
World Vision Taiwan, the local chapter of the international Christian relief organization, promoted its 20th 30-Hour Famine program yesterday, calling on the public to help raise money to combat the global food crisis. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend this year’s Famine Hero Rally scheduled for Aug. 15 and Aug. 16 at the National Taiwan Sport University stadium in Linkou (林口), Taipei County, an event the group hopes will raise NT$170 million (US$5 million). People interested in participating can sign up from May 1 at 30hf.org.tw. The registration fee for adults is NT$1,000 and NT$500 for students.
■ ECONOMY
Vouchers still unclaimed
A total of 160,841 people had yet to pick up their consumer vouchers as of Sunday, a few days before tomorrow’s deadline, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The ministry said that as of Sunday, 23,103,405 of 23,264,246 eligible people — or 99.31 percent — had collected vouchers worth a total of more than NT$83.17 billion. The ministry urged eligible people who have not collected their vouchers to do so at designated post offices, adding that those who fail to claim them by the deadline would lose their right to them.
■ DIPLOMACY
Arrested journalists in focus
The legislature yesterday agreed to refer to the Executive Yuan a motion by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) that the government seek help to free two journalists arrested by North Korea. Huang’s motion stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should seek assistance from non-governmental channels to assist the journalists from online news outlet Current TV — Laura Ling (凌志美), a US citizen whose mother is Taiwanese, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American. Ling and Lee were arrested and detained by North Korean guards while filming a story on refugees on the border of North Korea and China on March 17.
■ CRIME
Mother killed over remote
A man accidentally killed his mother while they were fighting for a TV remote control, media reported yesterday. The incident occurred on Saturday in Nantou City. Su Peng-sheng (蘇澎生), 43, was watching TV at home with his mother, Hsiao Ching-chou (蕭金綢), 64. In a quarrel over the remote, Su’s mother grabbed a wooden stick to hit him. Su pushed his mother, causing her head first to hit the wall and then the corner of a table, media reports said. The son rushed his unconscious, bleeding mother to the hospital, where she died on Monday. Su turned himself in, saying he was heartbroken. He has been charged with homicide, which carries a minimum two-year jail term, reports said.
■ POLITICS
Ma appoints NSB chief
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday appointed acting director of the National Security Bureau (NSB) Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) to head the bureau. Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Ma had observed Tsai for more than a month and was convinced that he was fit for the job. The Presidential Office has dismissed speculation that former NSB director-general Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) had resigned amid a power struggle within the government’s intelligence branch. Wang has said that Tsai had offered to resign on several occasions, but that Ma refused to let him go.
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
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
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
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