■ Health
Kids need regular snacks
Unlike adults, it is important for young children of kindergarten age to snack regularly, in order to get their required nutrients, officials from the Taipei City Government's Department of Health said yesterday. "This doesn't mean that they should only eat cakes and sweets though," Deputy Director of the Department of Health Promotion Lee Chieh-fang (李玠芳) said. However, according to a survey conducted by the John Tung Foundation, in which 742 kindergartens across Taiwan participated, snacks that were high in sugar, salt and oil content were dished out to children in five out of 10 snack times during the course of the week. In a move to promote a "healthy eating culture," the Xinyi District Health Center in Taipei City, in addition to educating kindergarten kitchen staff about children's nutrition needs, has also created recipes for healthy eating which can be obtained by calling (02) 2723-4598, extension 261.
■ Earthquake
Temblor shakes Taipei
An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale hit Taipei and the surrounding area yesterday, causing buildings to sway, according to seismologists. The quake came amid a controversial warning that the weight of the world's tallest skyscraper may cause an increase in temblors. The quake struck at 18:15pm with an epicenter around 7.3km southeast of the capital, the Seismology Center said. The tremor, which originated 64.3km below the earth, was strongly felt in Taipei, although there were no immediate reports of damage.
■ Food safety
DOH may toughen laws
The Department of Health (DOH) has recently completed a proposed amendment to laws concerning food product management in an effort to stop dishonest food producers from selling substandard food that is hazardous to health. The problem of food safety is a perennial concern among consumers because of frequent news reports exposing the sale of dangerous food such as pork from sick hogs and contaminated cooked eggs. In the proposed amendment, punishments for dishonesty in the food businesses will be stiffened, allowing health authorities to ban problematic goods from being traded as soon as they are found to contain toxic or hazardous substances, or to carry no descriptions or incomplete descriptions of their contents.
■ Environment
EPA prepares trash policy
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will launch a publicity drive this month to prepare for the nationwide implementation of a garbage separation policy on Jan. 1. The policy, which has been enforced in 10 cities and counties nationwide since the beginning of this year, requires the public to sort their garbage into three categories -- ordinary garbage, recyclables and food scraps -- before taking it out to the garbage truck. Garbage that is not properly separated will be rejected, with offenders facing a fine of NT$1,200 to NT$6,000. The policy is set to expand to all 25 cities and counties across the nation next year. Local EPA staff will open garbage bags for inspection to see if the rules are being followed, EPA officials said. During the first three months, while the policy is being implemented, offenders will not be fined but will be given advice. Those who ignore the advice will be fined.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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