■ 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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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