TRAVEL
Sichuan gets level-2 alert
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday raised its travel alert for China’s Sichuan Province to level-2 after a new case of H5N1 avian influenza was reported there. Authorities confirmed on Friday last week that a 46-year-old man in the Sichuan city of Suining had contracted the avian flu strain, the first H5N1 human infection in the province this year. The man, who was exposed to dead poultry, developed H5N1 symptoms on Feb. 18 and died on Feb. 27, according to the CDC. Another H5N1 case was reported in China’s Jiangsu Province earlier this year, where a level-2 alert is still in place. Travelers to China should avoid contact with birds, alive or dead, pay attention to personal hygiene and seek immediate medical attention if they develop such symptoms as a fever or a cough, CDC officials said.
POLITICS
New party established
A new political party called Minkuotang (民國黨) — or the Republic Party (MKT) — was officially established yesterday. The founder and chairperson is Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), a legislator who withdrew from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in late January, saying that she wanted to form a “third force” and “to fulfill what the public expects of her.” About a dozen government officials and politicians across party lines, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) attended yesterday’s ceremony and offered their congratulations. Hsu said at the ceremony that the founding of the MKT, “a party that places people before the nation,” was prompted by the need to get back to the grassroots level and “awaken society.”
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
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