■ Health
CDC reports malaria case
The Center for Disease Control confirmed on Monday the country's first malaria case of the year. Center officials said the patient, a 48-year-old man, had been on a business trip to Madagascar from Jan. 1 to last Thursday. He developed a fever on Jan. 4 and sought medical treatment upon his return to Taiwan last Thursday. The hospital alerted the center after suspecting that he had malaria. The officials noted that the center received notification of 132 confirmed malaria cases between 2002 and last year, with 130 of those being contracted overseas, mainly from Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Myanmar and Malawi. Since Taiwan eradicated the mosquito-borne disease in 1965, most malaria cases reported have been contracted abroad, with an average of about 30 cases per year.
■ Society
Chen Ding-nan hall planned
A preparatory committee has been formed to oversee the construction of a memorial hall in commemoration of the late minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), who died of lung cancer in November, the committee's spokesman, Lai Juei-ting (賴瑞鼎) said. Lai said construction of the hall would cost an estimated NT$50 million (US$1.5 million), and an additional NT$200 million would be needed for maintenance operations. The committee has so far collected just NT$ 9.1 million, Lai said, adding that the committee had not yet decided on a location for the planned memorial hall. According to an initial blueprint, Lai said the hall would include a main gallery to display Chen's manuscripts and other documents, particularly those from his eight years as Ilan County commissioner.
■ Diplomacy
WHA decision explained
Director-general of the Department of International Organizations John Chen (陳忠) yesterday explained why Taiwan did not apply for observer status at this year's Executive Board of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held on Monday. Chen said the decision was made following strategic considerations rather than time pressure. The Executive Board of the WHA is not a policy-making body that has the power to decide whether Taiwan could become a WHA observer, Chen said, adding that El Salvador was the only ally of Taiwan that is in the 35-member board. Therefore, it might have a negative effect if Taiwan were to insist on applying for observer status, he said. Lai added that "Taiwan will never give up its efforts to gain membership in the WHO" and will take effective and practical action to accomplish this goal.
■ Health
Visually impaired get advice
Visually impaired people need to exercise regularly to stay healthy, said Weng Lin-chung (翁林仲), superintendent of the Renai branch of Taipei City Hospital. Weng said that he found a higher rate of obesity and health issues among the visually impaired after the hospital launched a free physical check-up service. During the check-ups, one blind man who worked as a masseur admitted that he hardly did any exercise because of a loss of strength and time constraints. Weng added that many visually impaired people do not make a habit of taking regular exercise, except for walking, and do not have balanced diets. He added that it could be difficult for the visually impaired to access health information. Weng advised the visually impaired to take 30-minute exercises at least three times a week.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by