Contrary to claims made in your article ("Groups protest `hazardous' cables," Nov. 26, p. 2), there is no credible scientific evidence of health effects from living or working near a mobile-phone base station.
We believe that the article confuses magnetic fields emitted by powered appliances and electrical wiring, which are very different to the radio waves used for communication. The potential impacts of radio frequency energy on human health have been studied in great detail over the past 50 years.
Comprehensive reviews of over 2,200 research publications, including 410 studies specifically on mobile phones and base stations continue to find no substantiated scientific evidence of adverse health effects.
Only recently the World Health Organization (WHO) said that despite the feelings of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. The WHO's fact sheet on radio frequency (RF) emissions states: "None of the recent reviews have concluded that exposure to RF fields from mobile phones and their base stations cause any adverse health consequences."
Also, exclusion zones around residential areas and schools do not reduce public exposure to radio waves and the argument for such zones is scientifically flawed. In fact, a base station sited further from a residential area or school may need to run at a higher power level in order to operate effectively, and this could result in higher exposures at the school.
Michael Milligan
Secretary-general of Mobile
Manufacturers Forum
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS