CULTURE
Five poisons’ on display
The Taipei Zoo is hosting an exhibition featuring animals traditionally seen as sinister symbols to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, seen as a time when evil spirits are awakened, zoo officials said yesterday. In ancient Chinese culture, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, toads and geckos — known as the “five poisons” — were believed to be evil and their spirits were thought to “possess” unfortunate human beings during the festival. However, staff said the zoo hopes its exhibition, which runs through June 30, can help dispel these myths and raise awareness of animal protection. The exhibition will give the creatures a chance to show their true colors, the zoo said. The exhibit will feature six animals: brown spotted pit vipers, emperor scorpions, Chinese red-headed centipedes, Asian common toads, Tokay geckos and Mexican red knee tarantulas.
HEALTH
DOH certifies food exports
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday began to certify the safety of food products containing starch that are destined for export in an effort to salvage the reputation of Taiwan-made products in the international market. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) said the department will issue certificates for exports that have been deemed as safe for human consumption by recognized testing laboratories. The new measure was taken after a modified starch containing maleic anydride was recently found in several popular Taiwanese food products. The scandal prompted Kuala Lumpur to demand that every shipment of Taiwan-manufactured food products containing starch — such as rice noodles and tapioca balls — exported to Malaysia must carry a DOH-verified safety certificate. Kang said he expects Singapore and other countries will soon impose similar demands.
EARTHQUAKES
Quake costs NT$33.73mn
The strong temblor that struck Taiwan on Sunday has caused an estimated NT$33.73 million (US$1.13 million) worth of damage to 191 schools in central Taiwan, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. As of yesterday morning, 69 schools in Nantou County, 32 in Yunlin County and 27 in Greater Taichung were reported to have sustained damage, the ministry said. Nantou was the most severely affected, with damage estimated at NT$24.26 million, the ministry added. The magnitude 6.3 quake, which hit at 1:43pm, was felt in most parts of the island. The epicenter was located in Nantou’s Renai Township (仁愛) at a depth of 10km, according to the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center. Four people were killed by the quake, the Central Emergency Operations Center said.
DIPLOMACY
Arkansas official arrives
Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr arrived in Taipei yesterday on a week-long visit to promote bilateral ties. Darr is scheduled to meet government officials and visit several facilities around the nation, said Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of North American Affairs. Darr’s arrival marks the 30th anniversary of the sisterhood relationship between Taiwan and Arkansas, Linghu added. During the trip, Darr will have the chance to learn more about the nation’s foreign affairs, defense, education and the development of cross-strait relations, the ministry 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