■ HEALTH
Enterovirus case confirmed
The Department of Health yesterday confirmed an enterovirus-71 case involving a 21-month-old child in Pingtung County, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 14 for the year. Lin Ting (林頂), deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said the girl's parents had taken her to a Kaohsiung medical center on Feb. 4 after finding blisters all over her body. The child was released from the hospital the next day after her condition improved. However, on Feb. 6, the child developed a fever, symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease, as well as arm and leg spasms, Lin said. The parents brought the child back to the medical center where she was immediately admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. After conducting tests, the hospital reported the suspected enterovirus-71 case to the CDC. The child was released from the medical center several days later after her condition again improved.
■ POLITICS
Chen to decide on proposal
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will decide whether to negotiate a third referendum proposal this week as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has pitched a third proposal to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平). Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday said that the president would consider different opinions, including DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). During his meeting with President Chen last week, Hsieh expressed his support for the two referendum proposals that will be held concurrently with the presidential election on March 22. Hsieh also urged the president to call a meeting with DPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) representatives to discuss how to take advantage of the referendum mechanism to serve the best interest of the nation. The DPP has proposed holding a referendum on whether to join the UN using the name "Taiwan," while the KMT has suggested another referendum on "rejoining" the body using the country's official name.
■ TRANSPORTATION
TRA to try EasyCards
Railway passengers will be allowed to pay their fares with EasyCards in four stations in the greater Taipei area later this year on a trial basis, the president of the Taipei Smart Card Corp (TSCC) said yesterday. The Taipei, Wanhua (萬華), Banciao (板橋) and Shulin (樹林) stations will be included in the trial, which will allow the Taiwan Railway Administration to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the use of EasyCards to all 19 stations between Keelung and Jhongli (中壢), which see 400,000 commuters per day, company president Lin Chih-ying (林志盈) said. The contactless prepaid cards were first launched by the company in September 2002 as a travel pass for passengers using the metro and public bus systems in Taipei City.
■ CROSS-STRAIT TIES
Games an opportunity: Chen
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told a diplomatic gathering last night in Taipei that many human rights activists see the Beijing Olympics an opportunity for China to address its human-rights problem. He said he hoped China would host a successful event and adhere to the peaceful spirit of the international games, in addition to improving its human-rights policies. Chen urged China to give up its plans to invade Taiwan so that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could coexist peacefully.
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
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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