HEALTHCARE
Dependent’s average to fall
The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday announced it would lower the National Health Insurance’s (NHI) figures on the average number of dependents from 0.62 people to 0.61 people from January next year. This would allow about 700,000 employers to save an estimated NT$1.4 billion (US$43.1 million) per year. NHI Financial Division head Tsai Pei-ling (蔡佩玲) said that of the estimated savings, about NT$0.8 billion would be by owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, while NT$0.5 billion would benefit the government’s budget. Tsai said that because of the low fertility rate in recent years, the average number of dependents gradually decreased from 1.36 in 1995 to 0.62 last year.
CULTURE
Film ratings relaxed
A revision to regulations governing how films are rated is aimed at giving teenagers the chance to watch more movies, a Ministry of Culture official said yesterday. Films are now classified into five categories, instead of four, as was the case in the past. The new rules took effect on Friday last week. Before the revision, films were rated “restricted,” viewing not permitted for those under 18; “parental guidance,” viewing not permitted for children under 12; “protected,” viewing not permitted for children under six; children between six and 11 must be accompanied by an adult; and “general audience,” viewing permitted for audiences of all ages. Under the new rules, the parental guidance category is divided into two categories: one that bars children under 12 from seeing a movie and the other that bars those under 15 from seeing a movie. The Department of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development said the next step is to help theaters and distributors implement the new system.
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