■ HEALTH
Alarms urged for eateries
The Consumer's Foundation yesterday urged hotpot and barbecue restaurants to install carbon monoxide detector alarms and good ventilation systems, adding that the establishments should check their natural gas equipment and pipelines for safety compliance at least every two years. Following an incident on Friday when 26 people in Taoyuan were poisoned by carbon monoxide at a hotpot eatery, the foundation randomly surveyed a barbecue and hotpot restaurant in Taipei and found that just with the barbecue fire ignited, the carbon monoxide density near the stovetop was 1291 ppm. The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection said exposure to carbon monoxide with a density of over 1,200ppm could cause an increased heart rate and arrhythmia. A density of over 2,000ppm would cause unconsciousness or death and a density of over 5,000ppm would kill a person in a matter of a few minutes, the bureau said.
■ TRAVEL
Government issues warnings
The Bureau of Consular Affairs yesterday advised the public to avoid traveling to South Africa on their own because of the worsening public disorder. The bureau issued the warning on its official Web site following a recent incident in which two Taiwanese backpackers were robbed in downtown Johannesburg. The bureau also advised people who join a package tour to South Africa to follow their groups closely and avoid going anywhere alone while in Johannesburg. The bureau also urged the public to postpone any plans to travel to East Timor. If such a trip cannot be avoided travelers should keep track of the latest developments in the country and refrain from taking part in any public assemblies or going to any dangerous areas while in the country, the bureau said.
■ CRIME
Taiwanese in Illinois safe
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that none of the 30 Taiwanese students and 10 Taiwanese professors at Northern Illinois University were injured in the shooting on Thursday when a student fatally shot five people before turning the gun on himself. Ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Chicago contacted the school's Taiwanese Students Association immediately after receiving news of the incident. The vice-president of the association confirmed that all of the Taiwanese students and professors were unharmed.
■ CHARITY
Celebrity items auctioned
With auction items donated by entertainment celebrities, an online charity auction organized by the Chinatrust Charity Foundation will begin at 10am tomorrow to raise funds for disadvantaged children. Among the 40 items donated by 17 celebrities for auction are 15 autographed limited edition posters and calligraphy from Aska Yang (楊宗緯), a costume from the movie The Most Distant Course donated by actress Guey Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) and a red dress that popular singer Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) wore in a music video. The auction will continue for four days, ending at 12pm on Friday. The funds raised through the auction will be allocated to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, the Syinlu Welfare Foundation and the Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation to help children in need. More information can be found on the event's Web site at www.bizdev-chinatrustorg.dc.com.tw/auction.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
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