ECONOMY
Fuel prices to rise
State-run oil refiner CPC Corp will raise gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.3 (US$0.01) a liter from tomorrow to reflect its cost as international crude oil prices continued to rise, the company said yesterday. With the latest price adjustment, CPC is offering 92, 95 and 98-grade gasoline at NT$31.2, NT$31.9 and NT$33.4 a liter respectively, and super diesel at NT$29.2 a liter. The company has raised prices of gasoline and diesel products for three consecutive weeks as international crude oil prices continued to rise.
CRIME
Hospital officials post bail
Two detained hospital superintendents were released on bail yesterday after they were charged with bribery over equipment purchases. The two, Chest Hospital superintendent Chung Wei-sheng (鐘威昇) and National Yang Ming University Hospital superintendent Tang Kao-chun (唐高駿), were detained over purchases of CT scanners and digital image processing systems. The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office turned the two over to the court after indicting them on Friday. Prosecutors said both Chung and Tang are ranking officials, but they received bribes from medical equipment suppliers. They are seeking steep punishments for the two and a retrieval of their ill-gotten gains. The Taoyuan District Court, after a screening of their case, ruled early yesterday that Chung and Tang should be released on NT$8 million (US$275,864) and NT$4 million bail, respectively.
POLITICS
KMT elects CSC members
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday elected 32 Central Standing Committee (CSC) members, with 23 of 24 incumbents re-elected. CSC member Yao Jiang-lin (姚江臨), director of the labor union of Taipower, topped the list by winning 1,104 votes, followed by former KMT legislator Hong Yuh-chin (洪玉欽) and TV mogul Chiu Fu-sheng (邱復生). KMT Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) failed to win re-election, becoming the only incumbent who did not obtain a seat. Nine members who were elected for the first time included Federation of Aviation Employees director-general Jesse Lee (李昭平) and Nantou Mayor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華).
HEALTH
Man dies of dengue fever
The Department of Health in Greater -Kaohsiung on Friday confirmed the nation’s first death this year from locally acquired dengue hemorrhagic fever and urged residents to take precautions against the disease. There had been 85 reported cases of locally acquired dengue fever, in addition to the fatality caused by the illness in the city as of Thursday, according to the department. The victim, a 60-year-old male, who lived in the city’s Lingya District (苓雅), was taken to a hospital emergency room on Wednesday suffering from a lack of appetite, bleeding gums and septic shock. He died the same day as a result of multiple organ failure. A postmortem examination confirmed that the man had been infected with dengue hemorrhagic fever, the department said. According to the department, statistics show that older people with chronic disease are more likely to die of the illness, which has a 9.6 percent mortality rate. The department urged residents to see a doctor if they experience muscle or joint pain, fever, headache, fatigue or internal bleeding, which are common dengue fever symptoms.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
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