■POSTAL SERVICE
Post Office to lick corruption
Postal company Chunghwa Post will issue a set of stamps on Wednesday to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, the company said yesterday. The set will comprise two stamps, one with a denomination of NT$5 and one of NT$25, the company said. Differing only in color and denomination, the two stamps will feature the same design: a globe with latitude and longitude lines that form the Chinese character “lian,” meaning “clean and honest.” “The image conveys the idea that Taiwan is taking the lead in promoting clean and competent government and its determination in implementing anti-corruption efforts,” the statement reads. First day covers will be sold from Monday.
■HEALTH
More suffer sleepless nights
The number of people in Taiwan suffering from chronic insomnia has nearly doubled in three years, as economic worries caused by the global downturn have brought more sleepless nights, a study showed yesterday. Nearly 5 million, or 21.8 percent of the population, have chronic insomnia, compared with 11.5 percent three years ago, the study from the Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine said. The study also found that people with sleeping problems had a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, the society said in a statement. The hike in sleeplessness was largely caused by unemployment as the nation plunged into recession late last year, it said. Chronic insomnia is defined as three sleepless nights in a week with the symptoms lasting for more than a month. More than 60 percent of the 4,000 people interviewed for the study also complained about waking up at night or having difficulties falling asleep within 30 minutes.
■ENTERTAINMENT
Hakka TV scoops awards
Taiwan’s Hakka Television Station won the Best Drama Series and Best Single Drama categories at the 14th Asia Television Awards (ATA) ceremony in Singapore on Thursday. Entering the competition for the first time to compete against programs from networks such as Discovery and National Geographic Channel Asia, Hakka TV earned nominations in four categories. The Best Drama Series award was given to Hakka TV’s 1895 in Formosa, which depicts a love story set during a Hakka revolt against the Japanese. The Best Single Drama award went to Hakka TV’s Love in the Season of Osmanthus, a comedy in which three middle-aged men try to rob a security van. Hakka TV director Hsu Chin-yun (徐青雲) said the station spends considerable effort on the cast, plot and production of dramas, which serve to promote Hakka culture.
■TOURISM
Visitor No. 4 million expected
The four-millionth tourist to Taiwan this year is expected to arrive today, which would be the first time this mark has been reached, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday. The lucky visitor will receive a debit card with a cash value of NT$400,000 (US$12,400) for exclusive use in Taiwan during their visit, bureau officials said. He or she will also receive many other gifts. The Tourism Bureau launched an incentive offer this year as part of a program to increase the number of visitors. The 1 millionth, 2 millionth and 3 millionth visitors also received debit cards earlier this year, but with a lower value. The bureau, in conjunction with the Northeast Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, is also staging two photo exhibitions at the airport until Feb. 28.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
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