HEALTH
CDC urges no bird smuggling
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned the public yesterday of the health risks associated with poultry smuggling, after customs officials found 32 larks in the hand luggage of a man returning from China where H5N1 avian influenza is prevalent. Citing the WHO, the CDC said there have been 532 reported cases of avian flu worldwide since 2003 and that the fatality rate was as high as 60 percent. “Importing untested poultry from countries where the H5N1 virus is prevalent not only poses a threat to local birds, but also puts the public at a risk of infection,” CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ting (林頂) said. Health authorities are monitoring the health of 219 ship passengers and 17 other officials who had been in contact with the 53-year-old man. The live larks were destroyed as a safety precaution, Lin said.
TRADE
Shipment of cars arrives
A vessel loaded with more than 1,700 luxury cars valued at about NT$5.2 billion (US$180 million) docked at the Port of Taichung yesterday, marking the largest single shipment of cars to the port in terms of both volume and value, according to the Taichung Harbor Bureau. The automobiles on the cargo ship included 1,428 Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs, as well as 204 Porsches, the bureau said. The import tariffs on the shipment could amount to as much as NT$1.7 billion, it said. Many dealers have been rushing to import high-end vehicles before July when a proposed luxury tax is scheduled to take effect, the bureau said. In the first two months of this year, more than 1,900 vehicles were shipped to the port and the total number for the first half of the year is expected to exceed that for the same period last year, the bureau said.
DIPLOMACY
Visa-free access granted
The French government recently granted Republic of China (ROC) passport holders visa-free access to its four overseas regions — Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion — five overseas administrations — Mayotte, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin — and the special collectivity of New Caledonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Effective yesterday, ROC citizens who possess passports valid for at least six months and hold onward or return tickets can enter those places for a stay of up to 90 days without a visa. Meanwhile, Tanzania and Mozambique granted Taiwan landing-visa treatment for up to 90 days and 30 days respectively, the ministry said. The number of countries and areas where Taiwanese can enter without visas or with visa-on-arrival is now at 113.
CULTURE
Songkran set for April 10
The main celebrations of the Southeast Asian “water splashing festival” will be held on April 10 in New Taipei City (新北市). The Songkran festival, which marks the start of the traditional New Year on April 13 in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, has become one of the most important multicultural events in the nation, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said. The Songkran celebrations, now in their 13th year, provide a great opportunity for local and foreign residents to experience different cultures, he said. For the first time, the festival will include the use of a 52m2 sprinkler fountain, instead of fire hoses, to splash people with water in a traditional good-luck ritual, he said.
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not