Long-term independence advocate Su Beng (史明) was hospitalized in Tokyo yesterday with uremia and kidney problems.
Sources close to Su said that his condition is serious and doctors are mulling whether to begin dialysis — a treatment for kidney complications — because of his age.
Born in 1918, Su turned 91 in September.
Originally named Shih Chao-hui (施朝暉), Su played an early role in Taiwan's independence movement and later wrote the book, "Taiwan's 400-Year History" during the 40 years he was exiled in Japan.
After martial law was lifted, Su returned to Taiwan in 1993 and worked as an independence activist while appearing frequently at events held by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found him guilty of using violence or threatening behavior at a public gathering and other crimes during a 2005 protest against then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit to China.
Although he was sentenced to 230 days in prison, the court allowed him the option of paying a fine in lieu of serving time in jail as Su's actions did not cause injury or death.
The sources added that they were waiting for test results to see if his condition was stable enough to return to Taiwan for treatment. However, doctors have said that because of his age and deteriorating condition, the hospital is unlikely to discharge him for the time being.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,