■ POLITICS
Debt not serious: Kaohsiung
The Kaohsiung City Government yesterday dismissed an accusation by Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Greater Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) that residents of the city are in serious per capita debt because of the city government’s loans. Director-general of the city’s Finance Bureau Lei Chung-dar (雷仲達) said the city government was NT$145.2 billion (US$4.5 billion) in debt as of the end of last month. The city government took out loans of about NT$5.8 billion between 1994 and 1998, while the amount rose to NT$8.5 billion after Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) came to office in 2006, he said. On average, the city’s 1.5 million residents were NT$95,000 in debt per capita instead of NT$140,000 as alleged by Huang, Lei said, adding that the city government took out loans in a bid to improve the city’s infrastructure. Huang alleged that the city’s debt would hit NT$200 billion after the city and Kaohsiung County complete a planned merger in December.
■ TRAVEL
Medical tourism touted
The chairman of a local travel agency yesterday said the nation should make a more concerted effort to enhance the appeal of its medical tourism sector, especially as interest in visiting Taiwan for medical checkups is growing among Chinese. Grand Travel chairman Jeff Chu (朱光志) said the combination of sightseeing and getting a checkup or other procedures done in Taiwan is very appealing to many Chinese because Taiwan offers high-quality health care at relatively low cost. However, only a limited number of the more than 1 million Chinese who are allowed to visit Taiwan annually can receive medical services because of visa and itinerary limitations. Chu urged the government to issue medical visas to visitors who would like to get treatment or checkups. He also recommended that medical institutions and spas develop integrated travel options.
■ MEDICINE
Doctors treat ‘elephant arm’
A two-year-old Cambodian girl suffering from massive swelling in her right arm arrived at Taichung Veterans General Hospital on Saturday for treatment. Reachny Mich, whose condition has been described as having an “elephant arm,” was discovered by a Taiwanese medical team when it was in Cambodia in April to provide free medical services. Taiwan’s government promised to treat her after Yu Tzu-hsun (余慈薰), a volunteer on the medical team, made repeated appeals on her behalf. Pediatric hematologist Chang Teh-kao (張德高) said Mich’s blood pressure, heartbeat and body temperature all appeared normal on Saturday, but he feared that her disorder was far more “complicated” than originally thought. Chang said Mich’s right arm appears to be four to five times bigger than her left arm, possibly because of an abnormal growth of blood vessels or bones.
■ CULTURE
Children’s troupe to perform
A children’s group will stage a self-created musical featuring performers in various dog costumes next month to help raise the public’s awareness of stray animal protection. If Kids Theater Company will put on the Chinese-language musical free of charge in Kaohsiung City on Sept. 4 and Taichung City on Sept. 11. The musical tells the story of how a family dog is abandoned by its owner and meets other stray dogs on the street. “We want to use this musical to show how happy dogs are when their owners love and care for them,” said Chao Chih-chiang (趙自強), the head of the troupe and the musical’s writer.
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