HEALTHCARE
Cabinet mulls smoking levy
The Cabinet yesterday preliminarily decided to levy a health welfare surcharge of NT$40 on each pack of cigarettes, twice as high as the current rate, in an amendment to the Tobacco and Liquor Tax Act (菸酒稅法) in a meeting chaired by Minister Without Portfolio Simon Chang (張善政). The proposed amendment to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes means a packet would cost NT$25 more if the amendment is passed by the legislature. According to a survey conducted by the Department of Health, more than 50 percent of respondents said that the proposal was acceptable, Chang said. Chang said the adjustment was aimed at reducing the number of smokers in the nation.
CRIME
Filipina faces fraud charges
A woman from the Philippines faces prosecution in Taiwan after allegedly using fake credit cards to buy luxury goods on an EVA Air flight, authorities said yesterday. The woman, identified only as Janice, was arrested on March 15 when transiting through Kaohsiung International Airport en route to Bangkok, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said, adding that she had confessed to the crime. The woman is said to be a member of a group of fraudsters who buy watches, expensive pens and beauty products on international flights using fake credit cards and resell them in China. Female members of the group dress like rich women and travel in business class to make their act more credible, the bureau said. EVA Air contacted the police after 52 transactions worth NT$1.2 million (US$40,000) were rejected by banks. The bureau is sending out an alert to other countries through Interpol to seek help in locating others involved in the scheme.
DESIGN
Students win competition
Two Taiwanese students have won a prize at an international design competition with a device that serves as both a drink holder and a bicycle lock, National Cheng Kung University said yesterday. The device, called “DrinLock,” was among the 22 prize winners at the International Bicycle Design Competition 2013, said the Tainan-based university, where Kao Hua-cheng (高華成) and Chen Chien-wei (陳建維) are studying for master’s degrees. Besides its functions as a drink holder and a lock, the design also incorporates a light reflector to improve road safety. The competition was organized by the Taiwan-based Cycling and Health Tech Industry R&D Center, which held this year’s event jointly with iF Design Talent in Germany, the arm of iF International Forum Design that promotes young designers. A total of 391 designs from 45 countries were accepted for the competition this year, the organizers said.
TOURISM
Injured tourists back home
Several Taiwanese who were injured last week in a tour bus accident in China returned home yesterday, while the remains of one of the three people killed were also returned. The bus was carrying 13 Taiwanese tourists and a tour manager when it overturned while swerving to avoid an accident on a freeway in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, on Monday, the Tourism Bureau said. Three women were killed and 11 people injured. The tour was operated by Lion Travel. The bodies of two of the women were transported back to Taiwan on Thursday, and the ashes of the third one were brought back by her relatives yesterday. The injured Taiwanese tourists who returned yesterday were the last tourists from the ill-fated tour to return home.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
TOO DANGEROUS: The families agreed to suspend crewed recovery efforts that could put rescuers in danger from volcanic gases and unstable terrain The bodies of two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot have been located inside a volcanic crater, Japanese authorities said yesterday, nearly a month after a sightseeing helicopter crashed during a flight over southwestern Japan. Drone footage taken at the site showed three bodies near the wreckage of the aircraft inside a crater on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, police and fire officials said. The helicopter went missing on Jan. 20 and was later found on a steep slope inside the Nakadake No. 1 Crater, about 50m below the rim. Authorities said that conditions at the site made survival highly unlikely, and ruled
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