Wed, Aug 20, 2003 page3

• Taiwan Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ Health
  Ma meets Ontario officials

  Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called on health officials and visited a community hospital in Toronto, Canada, on Monday, where a SARS cluster transmission was reported earlier this year. Ma met with Phil Hassen, Ontario's deputy minister of health and long-term care, and other health officials over breakfast, and exchanged views on the battle against SARS. Ma broached the idea of Toronto and Taipei joining hands to inform each other on the latest SARS information. His proposal was positively received by the Canadian officials. Ma said the important things to think about are how to respond quickly if SARS resurfaces, whether it is necessary to impose large-scale quarantine measures and whether communication between the various levels of governments can be improved.

  ■ Crime

  Chinese migrants nabbed

  Twenty-three Chinese women suspected of attempting to illegally enter Taiwan were discovered hiding onboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel and arrested off Keelung by coast guard forces early yesterday morning. The coast guard reported that they had been tipped off that a smuggling ring was trying to use fishing vessels to transport illegal immigrants. The coast guard sent three cutters to patrol the northern sea area. The coast guard officers spotted the suspicious fishing vessel, the Taipei County-registered Tayi No. 168, off Pitou, Keelung, and boarded it at 2am. They discovered the women hiding in a secret compartment. They then escorted the ship back to Shenao Harbor and questioned its captain, Han Chung-hua (韓忠華), as well as a Vietnamese fisherman and the 23 women.

  ■ Culture

  Residents want museum

  The plan to build a Guggenheim museum in Taichung has received warm response from local citizens, a spokesman for a project promotional alliance said yesterday. The Guggenheim Museum Promotion Alliance, composed of major Taichung-based cultural organizations, launched a signature campaign in support of the ambitious plan late last month. The campaign, which ended Monday, attracted support from 16,900 Taichung residents, a spokesman said. "We'll send the signatures, news clippings featuring the promotional campaign and recommendations for the project to the city government and council, and the Guggenheim Foundation to express our support for the new museum project," the spokesman said. The project will cost about NT$6.4 billion and the central government has promised to foot half the bill.

  ■ Labor

  Safety program launched

  The Council of Labor Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Taiwan High-Speed Railway Corp (THSRC) yesterday signed an agreement that established each party as a member of the Safety Partnership Program yesterday. The contract is aimed at attaining better health and safety policies and their enforcement in the construction of the high-speed railway, and stipulates cooperation between the council and the THSRC in the oversight of the company's safety policies. Council Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) explained that while a 30 percent reduction in work-related accidents and deaths had been attained, the ultimate goal of a 40 percent reduction had yet to be reached. THSRC chairwoman Nita Ing (殷琪) said "nothing was more important than safety" and that it was a "necessary goal."
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