■ Health
China travel alert issued
The Department of Health yesterday called for tourists traveling to China not to touch birds in order to avoid being infected with a bird flu. The warning came after Hong Kong confirmed a nine-year-old boy contracted the disease. The strain of the virus is similar to that which caused the bird-flu epidemic in Hong Kong in 1997. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chen Tsai-ching (陳再晉) noted yes-terday that there is no vaccine against bird flu. "The Council of Agriculture has not discovered any virus on the birds that can travel to humans," he said, noting that bird flu has never appeared in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Chen said the CDC may not be able to control the disease if an epidemic did occur locally. Chen also expressed concern that poultry smuggled in from China
may carry bird-flu virus.
■ Mass transit
Taipei officials go to Daegu
A group of Taipei City Government officials will go to Daegu, South Korea, to study events surrounding an arson attack on a subway train on Tuesday that has left at least 125 dead, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday. The Taipei City Government held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to strengthen the safety of the city's mass rapid transit system, which transports around 1 million commuters daily. Although Taipei subway authorities said they were confident that their system is safe, participants at the meeting decided to organize a trip to Daegu to gain insight into how the tragedy happened and how a similar situation could be avoided or contained in Taipei. The delegation will leave today.
■ Drought
Nankan faces tougher steps
Nankan, the main island of the Matsu island group, might have to begin a second-phase of water rationing in the near future should its drought continue. Water levels in Nankan's reservoirs remain low despite recent slight precipitation. Water depart-ment statistics show the seven reservoirs and dams contain a total of 102,975 tonnes of water, 96,975 tonnes of which can be used to provide water for 39 days. The department said a second-phase of water restrictions might be put in place, giving residents one waterless day out of every five, if the water volume drops to less than 800,000 tonnes. The first phase of rationing, which stops water supplies every day after 9pm, has been in place since Feb. 6. The department warned resi-dents not to waste water before the annual rainy season arrives.
■ Crime
Motorcycle thefts targeted
The Ministry of the Interior plans to promote the identification-system for motorcycles by numbering motorcycle components in a bid to reduce bike thefts. The ministry yesterday invited criminal experts and academics to discuss how to decrease the rate of motorcycle theft, as part of Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien's (余政憲) aim to decrease the nation's crime rate over the next three months. Yu yesterday said that he believes an identification system would cut down on thefts. According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, 191,280 motorcycles were stolen last year, a slight reduction from the 193,271 stolen in 2001. To implement the policy, Vice Minister Chein Tai-lang (簡太郎) will coordinate with the Ministry of Transportation and Communication in the coming weeks.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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