■ CRIME
Fake brands seized
Kaohsiung City police arrested a man suspected of selling counterfeit brand-name children's clothing, a police official said yesterday. Around 500 pieces of counterfeit goods were also seized in the raid. The official said that the suspect, surnamed Chang, was caught selling the high-quality counterfeit products at a market in the city. Police are investigating to locate the suppliers of the counterfeit products, the official said.
■ TRANSPORT
Alishan station reopens
The Alishan Railway Station in Chiayi County was reopened yesterday after years of reconstruction following damage sustained during the devastating 921 earthquake in 1999. The first train to depart from the station was an antique train with wooden carriages and powered by a steam locomotive. Chiayi Forest District Office Director Yeh Hsien-liang (葉賢良) said the two-story station is the largest wooden railway station in the country. From the balcony on the second floor of the station, travelers are able to see Alishan's (阿里山) scenic landscapes and "cloud sea," Yeh said. The station lies on the Alishan Forest Railway, which starts in Chiayi City and meanders through Chiayi and Nantou counties, carrying passengers up and down the mountain.
■ SCIENCE
Penghu hosts scientists
Magnetic field detection operations in a nationwide geological survey started this week on Penghu, the fourth and final stage of the project, academic sources said on Wednesday. The project, conducted by the Hsinchu-based Industrial Technology Research Institute, has already visited Ilan, Hualien and Pingtung counties, and its work in Penghu is expected to take 45 days. The institute said the goal of the project is to better understand the nation's geological structures, as well as to lay the foundation for future studies.
■ LIVESTOCK
Banned drug detected
A goose from a fowl farm in Taoyuan County has been found to contain salbutamol, a banned drug used to promote the growth of lean meat in livestock, the director general of the Department of Health's Bureau of Food Sanitation said yesterday. Cheng Hui-wen (鄭惠文) made the announcement while making public the results of the bureau's spot checks on marketed geese around the country last month. One of 19 samples for banned drug tests was found to have excessive traces of salbutamol, Cheng said, adding that the problematic sample was taken from the Yung Yu goose farm. The farm faces a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, he said.
■ Tourism
Delegation targets Singapore
A tourism delegation organized by the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) will take part in a Singapore international travel fair to attract tourists from the city state. Speaking at a press conference, TVA Advisor Shao Chung-hua (邵仲華), who is leading the delegation, said Taiwan's Tourism Bureau has set a growth target rate for Singaporean and Malaysian tourists to Taiwan this year at 7 percent. According to Shao, around 180,000 tourists from Singapore visited Taiwan last year, an annual growth rate of 10.8 percent, while the number of tourists from Malaysia rose 7.2 percent. Meanwhile, Chi Cheng (紀政), chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2009 World Games, to be held in Kaohsiung, will also lead a group to Singapore with a view to attracting visitors.
■ CULTURE
Cross-strait festival
A group of 110 academics and members of various performance troupes from Taiwan plan to take part in the first Cross-Taiwan Strait Folk Arts Festival from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24 in Xiamen, Fujian Province. A 20-member delegation from Kinmen County, led by the county government's Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Li Hsi-lung (李錫隆), will also attend the festival. All the Taiwanese participants are to travel directly to Xiamen by boat from the island of Kinmen. The festival is sponsored by the Chinese Friendship Association of Culture, the Xiamen municipal government and the Fujian Provincial Government.
■ DIPLOMACY
Vietnam protests airstrip
Vietnam issued a statement yesterday protesting against Taiwan's plan to build an airstrip on one of the disputed Spratly islands. Taiwanese defense officials have said they plan to build an airfield on what Vietnam calls Itu Aba, the largest of the Spratlys, a chain of islands and rocky outcrops in the South China Sea. "Vietnam possesses adequate historical evidence and legal foundations to proclaim its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa [Paracel] and Truong Sa [Spratly] archipelagos," Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said. "All activities in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos which are not approved by Vietnam are violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in these areas and are devoid of legal merit," he said. Dung said Vietnam "urges Taiwan to immediately desist from continuing with its plan as well as similar activities in the Truong Sa archipelago." The Spratlys are claimed in full or in part by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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