■ 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.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
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