CRIME
Chinese arrested for theft
Three Chinese have been arrested for allegedly stealing NT$100,000 while in Taiwan as independent tourists, police said yesterday. The men, surnamed Liao (廖), Yang (楊) and Gao (高), had come to Taiwan from Guangxi Province several times since last year, police said, adding that they specifically targeted Japanese tourists. The police received a tip that they usually stayed for about 10 days at a time, and that their most recent entry was on July 6. The next day, the police followed them and obtained surveillance footage from Taipei 101 showing them pickpocketing, police said. They arrested Gao on Thursday last week at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Yang on Friday last week at Taichung International Airport. They also arrested Liao, the alleged leader of the group, at the Taoyuan airport on Friday. Gao said the group worked together to block people from stepping onto escalators and would take their wallets from their bags. Police said the suspects also used stolen credit cards to purchase clothing, watches and other items.
SOCIETY
Woman dies after boat flips
A 63-year-old Taiwanese woman died when a boat capsized in Cebu in the central Philippines during bad weather, while a child in her group suffered pleural effusion, local police said yesterday. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), was trapped under the boat after it capsized near a resort on Bantayin Island on Wednesday, police said. The other 11 Taiwanese tourists onboard were safe, and the child was in stable condition, the police said. Further investigation is needed to determine the boat operator’s level of responsibility, police said.
WEATHER
Two tropical storms form
Two tropical storms formed yesterday, but neither is to directly affect Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said. The first storm, Noru, formed east of Japan at 8am, while the other, Kulap, formed at 2pm in the middle of the Pacific, the bureau said, adding that their projected paths showed that neither would directly affect Taiwan. The nation should instead pay attention to the developments of two tropical depressions near the east coast of the Philippines and in the South China Sea, Weatherrisk Explore Inc chief executive officer Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said. Even though they are not likely to become typhoons, Peng said that their humidity could move north to the Bashi Channel over the weekend, which could increase the chance of afternoon showers and regional rain. The temperature could drop a little because of the rain, but hot days are likely to continue before any tropical storm or typhoon comes close to Taiwan, Peng said.
ENVIRONMENT
Dongshih to host clean-up
An environmental activity to raise public awareness about plastic pollution and preventing marine litter is to be held at Dongshih (東石) fishing harbor today, the Chiayi Environmental Protection Bureau said yesterday. Working in collaboration with Fongtian Temple (奉天宮), a local seabed cleansing operation is to be carried out by coast guard divers in the area. They are to be accompanied by worshippers of sea goddess Matsu (媽祖) who support promoting a healthier ocean for future generations. Another group of worshipers on land are to carry a statue of Matsu around the harbor to offer blessings for the day’s event. Other activities, including performances, waste recycling and a pigeon release, are to also be staged at Dongshih Harbor.
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not