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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ CRIME

Anti-fraud hotline abused

The Criminal Investigation Bureau reminded the public not to abuse the 165 anti-fraud hotline yesterday after two women repeatedly called it to chat or sing over the past year, local media reported. The first woman, a mentally challenged patient who called herself “Phoenix No. 1” (鳳凰一號), made more than 600 calls just to “greet” police from the public telephone of a Hualien mental institution in the past year, the bureau said. She even sang or chanted Buddhist scriptures on the phone, police said. The second woman, nicknamed “A-chu” (阿珠), also abused the hotline frequently by calling to complain about anything and everything, the bureau said. Police said many of the calls made to 165 were completely unrelated to fraud and warned that those who made such calls could face a fine of between NT$3,000 (US$91) and NT$15,000.



■ POLITICS

KMT looks to screen Cabinet

Four members of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) decision-making Central Standing Committee proposed that the new Cabinet lineup should be screened or approved by the committee. The four members, led by Lee Teh-wei (李德維), presented the proposal at the Central Standing Committee’s weekly meeting on Wednesday, KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said. KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) asked KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) to convey the suggestion to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is scheduled to take over the KMT chairmanship in October, the spokesman said. In response to mounting public dissatisfaction with the Cabinet’s flawed rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, Ma promised to reshuffle the Cabinet early next month. Lee Teh-wei said that in light of the scale of the typhoon disaster, many members of the public hoped to see a major overhaul of the Cabinet.



■ TRADE

Chinese get Botox injections

Representatives of China’s beauty industry received anti-ageing treatments at two Taipei hospitals on Wednesday as part of their fact-finding tour of Taiwan’s cosmetic dermatology sector. Among the services offered to the visitors were Botox cosmetic injections and skin rejuvenation procedures. The delegation is comprised of 121 professionals from China’s beauty sector who arrived on Tuesday for a six-day visit at the invitation of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council. Lin Tsai-hsia (林彩霞), chairwoman of Best Lady Beauty Body Co in Guangzhou, said the cosmetic dermatology tour would allow them to learn from Taiwan’s success and prepare them for building a cosmetic dermatology industry in China. The delegates are also expected to take part in the Taipei In Style fashion exhibition that starts today.



■ HEALTH

No cholera cases reported

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday that there had been no cholera outbreaks in areas in the south that were flooded after Typhoon Morakot struck earlier this month. The CDC’s statement came in the wake of reports of two suspected cases of cholera in Kaohsiung. In Pingtung County’s Wandan Township (萬丹), however, eight of the 83 suspected cases of leptospirosis have been confirmed as positive and four of the eight patients were in intensive care, CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said. There have also been reports of doctors seeing patients complaining of coughs, fevers, deep muscle soreness, liver problems and kidney problems.
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