HEALTH
Third brucellosis case found
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday confirmed a new case of highly contagious zoonosis brucellosis — the third this year — and warned the public not to consume raw milk or meat when traveling in high-risk countries. A 60-year-old woman who visited Malaysia in April began complaining of light muscle pain, a typical symptom of the disease, said Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), head of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Center. The incubation period for the disease can be several months, and anyone returning from brucellosis-prone areas such as the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East and Central and South America who experience fatigue, stomach ache and profuse sweating should advise their doctors about their travel history, Chuang said. Two cases were reported earlier this year — a 54-year-old woman and a 72-year-old woman, who consumed raw meat and dairy products during their trip in May to North Africa and Southeast Asia respectively.
TOURISM
Flora pavilions reopening
The Taipei City Government said yesterday that three of the pavilions at the Taipei International Flora Expo’s Xinsheng Park would reopen next month. The two most popular pavilions — the Pavilion of Dreams and the Pavilion of Future — as well as the Pavilion of Angel Life will open to the public on Aug. 1, with tickets priced at NT$100, NT$50 and NT$100 respectively. To avoid huge crowds and long lines at the pavilions, people can buy tickets in advance at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Hi-Life convenience stores. Sales of tickets for visits next month will start on Wednesday, while those for September will be available next month, the Department of Economic Development Commissioner Cheng Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) said.
SOCIETY
Retirement assets low: poll
Taiwan has the second-lowest individual retirement assets in Asia, according to a survey released on Tuesday by a global investment services firm. Each adult has only about NT$900,000 (US$31,000) in assets when he or she retires, HSBC Direct in Taiwan said. The figure is much lower than the regional average of more than NT$1.05 million and is only ahead of India. However, the survey also found that 60 percent of Taiwanese polled said they had financial plans for their retirement, which is behind only China and India in the region.
POLITICS
DPP might sue for Tsai story
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday that it has not ruled out filing a lawsuit against a publication questioning DPP Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) sexual orientation. Taiwan People Power News (TPPN, 台灣公論報) on Monday questioned Tsai’s relationship with an aide in a story titled “Unveiling the secret of Tsai Ing-wen’s sexual orientation.” “We will definitely file a lawsuit against the groundless and false content in the report,” said DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁). TPPN publisher Wu Hsiao-tien (巫曉天) is married to Hou Hui-hsien (侯惠仙), a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Committee. TPPN was founded in 1947 and re-launched in 2006, according to its Web site. Given the relationship of Wu and Hou and their close connection with the KMT, it raises suspicions that the story could be “part of a series of dirty election tricks against Tsai,” Chen said.
AGRICULTURE
Hualien pork prices soaring
Officials of the Hualien County Meat Market Corp said the county is experiencing soaring pork prices because of a supply shortage of local meat. The pork shortage has led to wholesale pork prices reaching NT$75 per kilogram, up NT$10 from the same period last year, according to Hualien County Councilor Kung Wen-chun (龔文俊), who runs a pig farm. Kung said pigs usually have low appetites in the summer because of the hot weather, which means they put on weight more slowly. Meanwhile, the prices of imported feed, such as soybeans and corn, have doubled, forcing farmers to raise fewer animals, he added. Teng Kuo-hsiang (鄧國祥), the company’s marketing manager, said he will invite local farmers’ associations and pig farmers to discuss the issue of how to balance the pork market.
EDUCATION
Kinmen seeks China pupils
Four schools on the outlying island of Kinmen have invited children of Taiwanese businesspeople in China to study there, offering free tuition as an incentive. The children would have to pay as little as NT$2,000 for their dormitory accommodations and would enjoy the same resources as other students, according to the officials. The four schools signed sister-school agreements with three private schools founded by Taiwanese businesspeople in China on Tuesday at the Ministry of Education. The three schools in China now have about 3,500 students and the ministry subsidizes each student with NT$30,000 each year. However, education officials are encouraging students to enroll in the Kinmen schools, which use the same curricula as the rest of Taiwan. They said this would help the students get used to the education system in their home country.
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:
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
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
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