The Kaohsiung City Government Department of Health is ready to deliver skin donations from cadavers to hospitals in northern Taiwan that are treating people injured in Saturday’s suspected dust explosion at an amusement park in New Taipei City, a city official said yesterday.
The department and Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, where the donated skin is stored, are standing by for the deployment of the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center, a department division head surnamed Wang (王) said.
Almost 500 people were hurt during the explosion and fire at Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸), a water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District, with many suffering from severe and extensive burns. The demand for skin transplants is expected to surge, Wang said.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Derek Chen (陳金德) said that the city government was willing to share its experiences on handling reparations or subrogation of lawsuits for the members of the public, adding that the municipal Department of Health would be glad to help with any needed skin transplants.
Kaohsiung experienced a series of gas pipeline explosions on July 31 and Aug. 1 last year that ripped up entire sections of asphalt and wrecked buildings, killing 32 people and injuring more than 300. The blasts were linked to leaks in a section of an underground pipeline owned by LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學).
Starbucks Taiwan’s decision to charge for drink customization, which had been free, has sparked consumer backlash, highlighting the challenge of raising prices without making customers feel they are losing value, experts said. Since Oct. 12, customers who order drinks with less or no ice and ask to have the volume topped up with milk or other liquid have been charged an additional NT$15. Topping off drinks without ice was previously free, and disgruntled customers posted photos on social media showing that iced drinks ordered without ice were only half full if the extra NT$15 was not paid. The posts drew tens of thousands
EXPLANATION: Tsai said he attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research Television host Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) last night broke his silence over a controversy surrounding his appearance at a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋), saying he had never supported Taiwan independence. “I have always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations. I have never supported Taiwan independence,” Tsai wrote in a post on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. Tsai, who has hosted television shows in China, attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4, drawing criticism from Chinese social media users and prompting some Chinese companies to distance themselves from him. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
The husband of a Taiwanese woman stabbed to death at a hotel in Japan has been detained on suspicion of entering into a sham marriage and taking out high-value insurance policies in her name, Tainan prosecutors said today. A woman surnamed Ching (井), 38, was killed on Monday last week at a tourist hotel in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. A Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) was arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of murder, Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Wang Sheng-hao (王聖豪) said. Investigators suspect that Ching's new husband, surnamed Lee (李), 29, arranged a sham marriage, encouraged her to travel to Japan
Taiwan’s AH-64E Apache attack helicopters have been grounded for inspections following a US technical notification about gearbox risks, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. Speaking briefly to reporters before a legislative committee hearing, Koo said the army would deploy AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and OH-58D reconnaissance helicopters to carry out readiness missions during the inspection period. He did not elaborate on the inspection requirements or how long the Apaches would remain grounded. According to a US Army Public Affairs release issued on Oct. 2, the US Army has ordered an immediate, temporary pause in flight operations for AH-64E Apache helicopters
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