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Taiwan Quick Take

■POLITICS

DPP blocks amendment

A proposed amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法) that sought to lengthen the terms of mayors, county commissioners and councilors was prevented from being put on the legislative agenda yesterday after being blocked by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus. The amendment, proposed by the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, was put on the plenary agenda during the Procedure Committee meeting on Tuesday, but the DPP caucus expressed reservations. The proposal sought to extend the terms of mayors, commissioners and councilors by one year and five days so that elections for these government positions could be held simultaneously with the next special municipality mayoral election. The nation held its latest mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung in December last year. DPP Legislator Chen Tsung-jen (陳宗仁), a member of the committee, said the legislature may suffer criticism from the public if it were to approve the extensions.



■ EDUCATION

NTU in British deal: sources

National Taiwan University (NTU) could begin a student exchange program with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in September next year, NTU sources said yesterday. They said that NTU president Lee Su-chen (李嗣涔) as well as the deans of NTU's colleges of liberal arts, science, social science, medicine and engineering visited eight prestigious universities in the UK and France early this month to promote cooperative relations. The delegation reached an initial agreement with the two British universities on student exchanges from next September, the sources said. The University of Oxford proposed research cooperation with NTU on the subject of "Austronesian culture," while the University of Cambridge is keen on research cooperation on the subjects of Taiwan and China, they said.



■ TRANSPORTATION

Souvenir cards mark record

In celebration of reaching a total volume of 10 million passengers, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp will sell 1,000 special-edition MRT EasyCards from 10:30am today at the Taipei City Hall souvenir store and MRT gift shop near exit six of the MRT Taipei Main Station. The cards feature a customized logo and pictures of 1,000 citizens holding up their EasyCards, the company said. The cards will sell at NT$350 each and are limited to four per person. Former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to join Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in celebrating the record-breaking ridership this morning at 10am at Taipei City Hall.



■ RESEARCH

Pope selects Lee Yuan-tseh

Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), former president of Academia Sinica, said yesterday via his secretary that he felt honored to be appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as an academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, one of Europe's most prestigious academies. Lee, a joint winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, asked his secretary to transmit the message while he was en route to the US from Japan. Also named as member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by the Pope on Thursday was German physicist Klaus von Klitzing. The academy now has 80 academicians, with more than 20 of them Nobel laureates. Lee, born in Hsinchu in 1936, has gained world renown for his research on the crossed molecular beam technique.

■ HEALTH

Malaria case reported

A mechanic working in Kaohsiung City has been confirmed as having malaria, a news release issued by the Kaohsiung City Bureau of Health said yesterday. The release said that the man contracted the disease during a business trip to Guinea between late August and Oct. 2. The patient, now in a stable condition, is receiving hospital treatment, bureau officials said. The officials urged the public to remain calm because there was little chance of being infected by the disease. Taiwan was certified malaria-free by the WHO in 1965. Nevertheless, the nation reports around 30 cases of malaria annually, usually in people infected while visiting other countries.



■ ECONOMY

Vegetable prices rise

Wholesale vegetable prices rose to NT$44.52 per kilogram yesterday from NT$41.82 the previous day in the Taipei market, an increase of 6.46 percent, the Taipei Agricultural Products Market Corp (TAPMC) said. Anticipation among vegetable traders of a declining supply in the wake of Typhoon Krosa's devastation early this month was blamed for the price hike, TAPMC officials said. Wholesale vegetable prices broke the record high set after Typhoon Sepat hit in mid-August they said. It might take some time for vegetable producing areas to recover from the devastation brought by Typhoon Krosa, the officials said.



■ LABOR

Death falls increase

An average of 30 workers die in falls from rooftops every year in Taiwan, tallies released yesterday by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) showed. Incidents in which workers fell to their deaths after accidentally crashing through roofs accounted for the greatest number of fatalities at 72 percent, CLA officials said. Thirty-five workers have lost their lives in such accidents so far this year, including recent cases in which workers fell to their death while repairing roofs damaged by typhoons, the officials said. The increase in such accidents is attributed to the widespread use of light materials such as asbestos and plastic in roofing.



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