■ Crime
3C's founder convicted
Wu Tsann-kuen (吳燦坤), founder and chairman of the Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co (3C, 燦坤實業), was found guilty of violations of the Securities and Exchange Law by the Kaohsiung district court yesterday. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. His personal assistant, Chuang Hui-fang (莊惠芳), was sentenced to 14 months. The two were found to have willfully manipulated the share price of Sunfar Computers Co (順發電腦) after the company rejected an offer to purchase its shares. According to the judgement, Tsann Kuen Enterprises had approached Sunfar's general manager, Wu Chin-chang (吳錦昌), with an offer to purchase Sunfar shares for NT$20, although they were trading on the market for NT$72. After the offer was rejected, Wu and Chuang manipulated the stock market to force down the price of Sunfar shares.
■ Health
Mental hospitals increase
The number of mental institutions in Taiwan had increased to 339 as of the end of September last year, up 45 from a year earlier, according to a report released yesterday by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. The government has continued to funnel national resources and offer incentives to encourage the private sector to expand mental hospital wards in order to upgrade facilities for mental patients, the report said. There were a total of 27,000 hospital beds for mental patients as of the end of September, up 7.5 percent over the same period of 2003, it said. The number of mental health workers also increased 4.1 percent to 7,223 people as of the end of September, which included 6,555 full-time workers and 668 part-time workers, it said.
■ Culture
Kaohsiung starts Hakka body
Emphasizing its dedication to multiculturalism, Kaohsiung City Government announced the establishment of its Hakka Affairs Commission yesterday. The head of the committee will be Liao Sung-hsiung (廖松雄), who was originally the department head of the Executive Yuan's Council for Hakka Affairs southern regional office. The establishment of the commis-sion is the next step of the city's dedication to the promotion of Hakka culture, as shown earlier through the establishment of the Kaohsiung City Hakka Culture and Affairs Founda-tion by city mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) in 1999, the city government said yesterday. Kaohsiung City has 250,000 people of Hakka descent.
■ Disaster Relief
DOH to send aid team
The Department of Health (DOH) will send a 17-member team to the Thai island of Phuket today to help with epidemic-prevention work there over the next three months. The DOH noted that one week after lethal tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit Phuket Dec. 26, the need for urgent medical care is no longer there but the specter of an epidemic outbreak is emerging. The team, comprised of epidemic prevention experts and medical personnel, will bring with them 1.5 tons of health and hygiene equipment and medicine, with the focus on public health. The DOH said that in the next three months, they will continue to send personnel to Phuket who will work there on a rotational basis.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
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