NATURE
Firefly peak approaching
Places nationwide are set for peak firefly activity this month as the insects breed, local governments said. In New Taipei City, the season could continue into early June, according to the city’s Agricultural Department, which has listed 48 hot spots for watching the beetles, including the Yuanshan hiking trail in the Sansia District (三峽), the Pingsi District (平溪) and the Emerald Pond in the Sijhih District (汐止). The Namasia District (那瑪夏) in Kaohsiung has also recorded increasing firefly activity. The district has designated firefly-watching trails in Takanua, Maya and Nangisalu villages, adding that the best time to spot the creatures is between 7pm and 8:30pm. Traditional firefly-watching areas, including Sun Moon Lake and the nearby Puli (埔里) area in Nantou County, are also encouraging the public to take part in their annual firefly festivals. In Taichung, government-backed firefly-watching are to take place in the Dongshi (東勢), Dakeng (大坑) and Sinshe (新社) districts.
POLITICS
Medical parole extended
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) medical parole has been extended by three months, officials said on Friday. Chen, who was convicted of corruption and is serving a 20-year sentence, is to be allowed to receive medical treatment outside of prison until Aug. 4, officials said. Friday’s extension was the second that Chen has received. He received a three-month extension in early February.
POLITICS
Campaign budget set: DPP
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has approved a budget of NT$200 million (US$6.5 million) for its presidential and legislative election campaigns next year, DPP spokesperson Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said. The DPP’s campaign budget is bigger than in previous elections because it is anticipating more votes, which means it will be eligible to receive a bigger government subsidy for campaign funding, Cheng said. The NT$200 million is to be mainly used to run the party’s headquarters, Cheng said. He said DPP candidates would be responsible for funding their own campaign offices. The presidential and legislative elections are in January next year. Regulations stipulate that presidential and vice presidential candidates may establish accounts for political donations beginning on May 20. The DPP will continue its efforts to attract funding from smaller donors, Cheng said.
SPORTS
Hualien river race date set
An annual triathlon along the nation’s east coast, which features river rafting instead of the usual swimming segment, is to be run on June 21. The Xiuguluan River Rafting Triathlon, now in its sixth year, is part of celebrations of the summer solstice, with the nation being one of 16 that the Tropic of Cancer passes through, tourism officials said. The race includes 11km of rafting on the Xiuguluan River (秀姑巒溪) in Hualien County followed by a 12.6km run and a 44km cycling section, the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration said. Registrations, which run through May 24, already include about 20 athletes from five countries, it said. Speaking at a promotional event on Thursday, guest runners Erica Reinhold and Bastiaan Bruell said the fact that the race introduces river rafting to replace swimming could be less physically demanding for beginners. For more information about the event, visit xgl-triathlon.ncom.tw.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the