■ POLITICS
Eric Chu moves to Sanchong
Former vice premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) moved into his new residence in Sanchong City (三重), Taipei County, yesterday in preparation for November’s mayoral election, when Taipei County will be upgraded to a special municipality called Sinbei City. He paid courtesy calls on some of his neighbors, including the local borough chief, saying that he would develop Sanchong into “a beautiful waterfront city.” Chu, who is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for Sinbei, said he would use his new residence as his campaign office. The KMT has pinned its hopes on him after various opinion polls showed that Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), also of the KMT, would likely lose a bid for re-election, leaving Chu as the party’s best choice.
■ MEDICAL
Families give thanks
The families of three organ recipients expressed thanks to the family of a retired Canadian teacher in Tainan City yesterday. Hans Lammens, who lived in Tainan with his wife Sandra Lammens, fell off his bicycle on May 7 and died five days later. Lammens’ wife, an English teacher at National Nanke International Experimental High School, decided to donate his organs, including his heart, kidneys, liver, cornea and sclera. The husband of a kidney recipient, identified only by his family name Liu, presented flowers to her yesterday at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Hospital, where the organ transplant surgery took place on May 13. “Finally, my wife does not need to live in the hospital anymore,” said Liu, whose wife was required to visit the hospital three times a week for kidney dialysis. The Lammens’ family also gave the organ donor’s funeral and burial subsidies to charities.
■ ENTERTAINMENT
Ke Hsiang-ting passes away
Award-winning movie actor and founding member of a local trade union for actors, Ke Hsiang-ting (葛香亭), died on Sunday at his Taipei home at the age of 92. His family said his health had deteriorated in recent days and his children were at his bedside when he passed away. Born in China’s Jiangsu Province, Ke joined the military, where he began his acting career serving in the entertainment corps after arriving in Taiwan with the army. His involvement in the entertainment industry spanned six decades. He won a Golden Horse award in 1965 for best leading actor for his role in Beautiful Duckling and again in 1970 for The Evergreen Mountains. In 2005, he received a Golden Horse lifetime achievement award. Besides his work in front of the camera, he also worked to improve the welfare of those in the industry and in 1978 founded the Actor’s Union of the Republic of China.
■ POLITICS
Obesity survey awaited
NCKU announced yesterday that it would release the results of the country’s first university survey of the weights of students at the end of this month. NCKU authorities used the slogan “Check Your Weight, Before Losing It” to promote the survey, which was conducted last month. NCKU surveyed a total of 6,000 of its sophomores and juniors. The survey was aimed at spurring students to check their weight regularly, control their diet and get as much exercise as possible, the university said. NCKU authorities would not, however, take any action to force overweight students to lose weight, it said. Meanwhile, the university has invited nutritionists from NCKU Hospital to advise campus restaurants on how to offer low-fat, high-fiber meals to students.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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