■ HEALTH
H1N1 toll now at 46
A 37-year-old man died of influenza A (H1N1) five days ago, bringing the number of H1N1 deaths in the country to 46 since the outbreak of the virus early last year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The latest H1N1 fatality was also the fourth in 10 days, following the deaths of a 21-year-old female university student and a 24-year-old man, CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said. In the most recent case, the patient developed flu symptoms early this month but did not seek medical attention until July 19, Chou said. After the patient’s condition began to worsen on July 23, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of a hospital where he died three days later, Chou said. Except for a 17-year-old patient, none of the victims who have died of H1N1 in Taiwan had been vaccinated against the virus.
■ FILM
Hsu, Sun up for awards
Director Hsu Li-kong (徐立?nd actor-turned-charity volunteer Sun Yueh (孫越) have been named by the Golden Horse Film Festival to receive special awards for their contribution to the local film industry, the festival organizer said. The Golden Horse Awards will present a lifetime achievement award to Hsu and a special contribution award to Sun. Hsu and Sun will receive the honors at this year’s awards ceremony on Nov. 20 in Taoyuan County. Hsu, one of the co-founders of the Golden Horse Film Festival, has helped cultivate several directors including Ang Lee (李安), Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) and others who have earned awards at film festivals in Berlin and Venice. Sun is a two-time Golden Horse award winner. He has devoted himself completely to charity work since retiring in 1989.
■ AGRICULTURE
Taitung pig sales suspended
Butchers and pig suppliers in Taitung County will suspend sales for 11 days during the period July 30 to Aug. 31 because of low supplies. The pork market in Taitung usually closes for a few days each summer ahead of the Ghost Festival in August when demand tends to rise sharply, but sales have never been suspended for more than seven days at a time. However, this year there has been a shortage of pork because of high summer temperatures, which affect the survival rate of pigs, and because pig stocks were depleted by Typhoon Morakot in August last year, said Wu Tze-he (吳子和), who is in charge of livestock production affairs in the Taitung County Government. This month, temperatures in Taitung have ranged on average between 25 ºC and 32 ºC.
■ CRIME
Executives sentenced
Taipei District Court sentenced yesterday Hu Hung-chiu (胡洪九), the former chief financial officer of Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Co (太平洋電線電纜), to 18 years in prison for embezzlement, conversion and forgery. The court also fined him NT$1 billion (US$30 million). Meanwhile, two former chairmen of Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Co, Jack Sun (孫道存) and Tung Ching-yun (仝清筠), were also respectively sentenced to four years and three years and two months in prison. Hu, also former chairman of chipmaker Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽), was indicted on charges of stealing about NT$17.1 billion from 1993 to 1998 when he worked at the company. The ruling found Sun guilty of conspiring with Hu in the embezzlement. It also ruled Tung of having embezzled NT$54 million from Pacific Electric in 2002 through fake business transactions.
Staff Writer, with CNA
Food delivery provider Foodpanda had 564 consumer disputes from January to last month and failed to attend many mediation sessions with local governments nationwide, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said. In a news release earlier this month, the committee said that it investigated consumer complaints and mediations for Foodpanda and rival Uber Eats during the period, when the number of delivery orders jumped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Uber Eats had 80 consumer disputes, the committee said. Of Foodpanda’s consumer disputes, 368 resulted from delivery drivers canceling orders after customers could not be reached, 108 were related to the quality or quantity
‘HONEYMOON’ IS OVER: A political science professor said that the Tsai administration’s popularity peaked after it successfully contained COVID-19, but is waning President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) approval ratings fell significantly this month in the wake of the government’s handling of the distribution of relief funds and stimulus coupons to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll released yesterday by the New Power Party (NPP) showed. The poll showed that 68 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 8.9 percentage points from last month, while 21 percent said they disapproved of her performance. Her approval among respondents aged 20 to 29 fell 14.7 percentage points, the largest decrease when compared with other age
‘CHINESE CAPITAL’: Fanny Liu was found guilty of reducing the rent of a tenant in exchange for a vote for a KMT Taipei city councilor candidate The Taipei District Court on Wednesday sentenced Fanny Liu (劉樂妍), a former member of the now-disbanded female pop group Fantasy 4, to 10 years in prison for vote-buying. The court found Liu — who is now based in China and has made pro-Chinese Communist Party remarks — guilty of reducing the rent on a Taipei property she owned in exchange for the tenant voting for a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate in the November 2018 nine-in-one local elections. She can appeal the ruling. Liu in December 2018 reportedly lowered the rent by NT$1,000 after the tenant said they had voted for Taipei City
Passengers arriving at Taoyuan International Airport will find that most entrances to both terminals have been sealed off as part of its COVID-19 prevention efforts. Follow the signs and directions posted on the doors to find the nearest entry point. The airport has installed infrared cameras and thermometer guns at all open entrances, and all persons with a temperature of over 37.5 degrees Celsius are prohibited from entering the terminal. In addition, staff will take the temperature of those checking in to their flights in advance at Airport MRT stations A1 and A3. In accordance with the Centers of Disease
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