■ EVENTS
Autistic musicians to perform
People will get a chance to enjoy the sounds of talented autistic musicians from around the nation in a concert at Taipei Main Station on Jan. 19. The "Resplendent Starlight" concert, sponsored by the Foundation for Autistic Children and Adults in Taiwan, will be held at the station's performance hall. The concert will feature clarinet, drum troupe, choir and taiko drum performances, among others. Also performing will be the autistic pianist duo of Concern For Life Award-winner Lee Shang-hsuen (李尚軒) and Chuang Tien-yue (莊天岳). The concerts will be free of charge and are part of the Taiwan Railway Administration's policy of promoting public interest activities. A total of 300 free tickets for the concert are now available at the Taipei Main Station service counter.
■ BUSINESS
CEPD mulls airport project
The government is considering setting up a special area at Taoyuan International Airport for transiting foreign businesspeople, where they could meet Taiwanese partners without actually entering Taiwan. Officials at the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said that a feasibility report submitted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council at the request of the CEPD favored the establishment of such an area. The report said the special area should have an exhibition room, a leisure area, a shopping area, a beauty parlor and facilities for speedy physical checkups. CEPD officials said they would initiate a pilot project at Taoyuan Airport to accommodate foreign businesspeople whose tight schedules might not permit them to enter Taiwan for a short stopover.
■ SOCIETY
CLA calls for safety
The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) on Friday called on high-rise window cleaning companies to focus on safety to prevent further deaths. Lin Chin-chi (林進基), director of the CLA's Department of Labor Inspection, said that between 2000 and the end of last year, nine mishaps involving window cleaning pulley systems had occurred in Taiwan, resulting in 11 deaths. To prevent further tragedies, Lin urged companies to implement certification programs that ensure that their equipment meets standards and to hold regular inspections of equipment after installation at cleaning projects. He called on companies to notify the local CLA labor inspection office of the time and place of their work projects prior to beginning work and to provide all necessary safety equipment and gear to workers.
■ HEALTH
DOH issues warning
Taiwanese traveling to Southeast Asian countries should guard against mosquito bites after a recent increase in Chikungunya fever cases, a Department of Health (DOH) official said. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director Lin Ting (林頂) said the nation first reported the relatively rare viral fever in 2006, when a student from Singapore was found to be carrying the virus. Three cases were reported last year, two of which, involving an Indonesia maid and a man returning to Taiwan to visit family members, were discovered in the latter half of last month. Taipei County health officials said the DOH notified them on Thursday that the Indonesian maid was suffering from Chikungunya fever and immediately rushed to her employer's residence to take samples from the home and spray pesticides.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe