Medicine: 100-year-old gets facelift
A 100-year-old Taiwanese lady may be one of the world's oldest people to receive a laser facelift. The woman, identified only by her surname Hsu (徐), decided to go for a "ruby laser and pulse light skin treatment" after she found that it had worked wonders for one of her daughters-in-law, according to the Chinese-language media. Hsu is receiving the treatment at Long Spring New Century Hospital in Taipei. The centenarian was very satisfied with the results after the first round of treatment and plans to undergo another seven or eight rounds of laser beautification, the report said.
Military: Searching for man overboard
The Navy Fleet Command said yesterday it has formed a special team to assist in searching for a navy private who fell overboard off the Penghu coast late Tuesday. Lee Chi-hung (李其鴻), a private aboard a Chengkung-class missile frigate, fell overboard at around 9:45pm Tuesday when the warship was returning to Makung harbor after a routine training voyage, a navy command press release said. Naval authorities in Penghu immediately launched a search, but Lee had still not been found as of press time. The Navy Fleet Command has also dispatched six ships and asked the Air Force's S-70C helicopter squad to assist in the search. The search-and-rescue operations are still continuing, the press release said.
Illegal immigrants: Migrants sent back to China
Twelve illegal Chinese immigrants were repatriated in two groups from Kinmen yesterday as Mid-Autumn Festival approached. The Kinmen squad of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said it has repatriated a total of 25 illegal Chinese immigrants so far this week on humanitarian grounds. "We have accelerated repatriation to enable these illegal mainland immigrants to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together with their families," a Kinmen coast guard official said. The illegal immigrants were arrested between late last month and early this month for either poaching oysters in Kinmen waters or illegally coming ashore to conduct small-volume trade on Kinmen beach, the official said. Seven of them, including two men and five women, were repatriated from Kinmen's Shuitou (水頭) wharf, while the remaining five made a direct voyage to Xiamen, Fujian Province from Kinmen's Louchu fishing port.
Public Health: Drug tests are `foolproof'
Drug users are in for a surprise if they think they can outsmart tests for illegal substances by mixing drugs such as Ecstasy with sedatives, according to an official with the Department of Health. National Bureau of Controlled Drugs Director-General Li Jih-heng (李志恆) said yesterday that controlled substances can be detected in urine tests, regardless of the combination of the drugs ingested or injected by the user. Li said that the belief has become common among drug users that if drugs are taken in combination, such as taking Ecstasy, a stimulant, along with nimetazepam, a sedative, the effects will neutralize each other, rendering a test for either substance inconclusive. Li said that the tests are able to correctly identify components of all controlled substances, irrespective of how they have been taken or in what combinations.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights