■ENERGY
VP touts nuclear power
Taiwan should develop nuclear-related industries and work with China to form a joint venture with international suppliers of nuclear power, Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) said yesterday. Siew said many countries have listed low-cost nuclear energy as an important option to lower greenhouse emissions. Siew was addressing a symposium on promoting the development of local nuclear industries. Citing World Nuclear Association statistics, Siew said 52 nuclear power plants were under construction worldwide and 295 more being planned. China plans to build 141 nuclear plants by 2030, while India and Russia each planned to build another 40 to 50.
■HEALTH
First in vitro baby prospers
The nation’s first baby born through in vitro fertilization has grown into a handsome man who, at 24, is now studying biomedicine at a graduate institute at National Taiwan University, medical sources said. The baby was born in 1985 at Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, seven years after the world’s first in vitro baby was delivered in the UK. “Although Japan cultivated Asia’s first in vitro baby, the infant died slightly more than a year later,” said Chang Sheng-ping (張昇平), head of reproductive endocrinology at the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Chang played a leading role in the experimental research project that led to the baby’s birth, and under his leadership, the hospital has so far successfully created more than 5,000 in vitro babies. The first in vitro baby, also surnamed Chang (張), has honored Chang Sheng-ping as his godfather since his birth. Though Chang’s mother has never hesitated to tell her child that he was born through in vitro fertilization, she did not want to see her child become the focus of media attention and asked that his name be withheld.
■HEALTH
Vaccination dates moved up
The Central Epidemics Command Center — an ad hoc committee organized by the Executive Yuan to tackle the outbreak of swine flu — has moved up the dates for young students to get vaccinations for the influenza A(H1N1) virus after parents complained the youngsters had to wait too long, especially as the number of infections continues to rise, with nearly 1,000 classes suspended so far. Swine flu shots will be made available for elementary school students from Nov. 16. The original date was Dec. 1. The immunization date for junior high school students will be moved up to Nov. 23 and that for high school students advanced to Nov. 30.
■CULTURE
Project to build creative hub
The government will invest NT$26.2 billion (US$804.8 million) over a four-year period to make Taiwan a cultural and creative hub in the Asia-Pacific region, with the aim of creating 43,000 jobs and a production value of more than NT$1 trillion by 2013, the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) said yesterday. CCA official Fang Jy-shiuh (方芷絮) said the plan was devised to promote the development of cultural and creative industries and to help them tap into the Chinese market. Industries such as the local pop music, film, television, designing, handicraft and digital content industries would be included in the project. The project is intended to generate more than 20 percent growth in media production value, triple overseas sales of media products and stimulate local consumption of cultural and creative products and services, he said.
■TOURISM
Amphibious tours to begin
Kaohsiung City will begin offering amphibious vehicle tours on a trial basis next month to prepare for an official launch of the service in January, a city official said yesterday. An imported duck boat is being painted and will be ready for test rides next month, said Ou Hsiu-ching (歐秀卿), a city official in charge of transportation affairs. Free tickets for the duck boat test rides will be offered to people who book a stay at the city’s hotels and take its ferry tours, Ou said. When the service officially begins, daily capacity will be 180 passengers, Ou said. Ticket prices will be NT$300 per person, with tours available from 12 noon to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, Ou said. The tours will cover 20 minutes of sightseeing on land and 40 minutes on water, Ou said.
■CULTURE
Malaysian food fair opens
A Malaysian food and cultural fair organized by the Taipei-based Malaysian Friendship and Trade Center (MFTC) opened yesterday in Taipei, showcasing the multicultural traditions and cuisine of Malaysia. The Malaysian food and cultural fair will run through Nov. 10 at Taipei’s Grand Hotel. Visitors will have a chance to enter a lottery for a trip to Kuala Lumpur and a home stay in Malaysia, the MFTC said. Abdullah Mohd Salleh, president of the MFTC and Malaysia’s top envoy to Taiwan, said the event gave Taiwanese an opportunity to sample Malaysia’s fusion cuisine of Malay, Chinese and Indian influences that represent the country’s unique culture. Three chefs flown in from Malaysia for the festival will cook traditional Malaysian food such as Nyonya dishes, chili crabs, Malaysian curry Laksa noodles, satay and Penang prawn noodles, Abdullah said, adding that a cultural performance troupe from Malaysia will perform daily.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods