POLITICS
Minister to stay: sources
Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝), who tendered his resignation before the Lunar New Year holidays, will continue to serve on the Cabinet, people familiar with the matter said yesterday. The sources said that Chang agreed to stay in the Cabinet after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had a meeting with him and praised his performance. Recent rumors said that the president had spoken with Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) during the holidays about a possible Cabinet reshuffle. Jiang yesterday said he had no comment on media speculation about the possible reshuffle and that he would make an announcement on the matter once a decision had been made.
HEALTH
Agency starts cancer drive
The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration launched a program on World Cancer Day yesterday to boost its efforts to fight a disease that has topped the causes of death in the nation for the past three decades. The project focuses on raising awareness of cancer prevention methods by promoting regular health checks and studying possible causes of the disease, health official Wu Chien-yuan (吳建遠) said. Given that cancer accounted for 28 percent of Taiwanese deaths over the past 31 years, the government is committed to continuing its efforts to reduce illness and death caused by the disease, she said. More projects, including those encouraging the public to exercise regularly and cut down on sugary beverages and fast food, are also being planned, since breaking these unhealthy habits can help curb cancer rates, she said.
SCIENCE
Center boosts fungus study
A research center in central Taiwan’s Asia University is stepping up efforts to develop edible and medicinal mushrooms, after its initial investment in the field generated output valued at hundreds of millions of New Taiwan dollars. The center plans to launch more trials on the cultivation of bamboo fungus — a popular ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine — following its success in raising maitake mushrooms and tremellas, known in English as snow fungus. The center hopes its efforts will contribute to the advancement of local mushroom cultivation, particularly of snow fungus, since Taiwan depends heavily on Chinese imports of this mushroom due to local restrictions on pesticides, center head J.Y. Lin (林俊義) said. Lin said the center has figured out a formula for the optimal levels of humidity, temperature and concentration of carbon dioxide required to mass produce several kinds of mushrooms that it wants to develop further in its research.
TECHNOLOGY
ITRI makes super bio plastic
After eight years of research, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has managed to develop a plastic made from cereal grains that can withstand temperatures of up to 100?C without deforming in the heat. Polylactic acid (PLA) plastics normally lose their shape when exposed to temperatures of 50?C or above, the institute said. However, PLAs derived from renewable biomass are heat-resistant, it said, adding that the new plastic derived from cereal grains is biodegradable and non-toxic. The state-funded institute said it has shared its findings with companies that plan to use the technology to produce heat-resistant tableware. Other possible uses for the invention include more resilient and eco-friendly bags, disposable cups, lids, food containers and components for electronic devices.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai