Thu, Nov 27, 2008 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
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  ■ AGRICULTURE

  COA touts herb's properties

  The Council of Agriculture said yesterday that technology for planting Rehmannia glutinosa had matured, raising its commercial production potential. Used as a medicine in China for centuries, the herb was recently clinically proven to be effective in treating symptoms of high blood pressure, poor circulation and lung disease, the council told a press conference. Rehmannia glutinosa can be used in preparing herbal soup, the council said, adding that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome could take a few slices of the herb and add it to chicken soup to help alleviate their pain. The council cautioned, however, that women who may be pregnant should refrain from taking the herb as it may have adverse effects.

  ■ ACCIDENTS

  Students sickened by gas

  Ten students at Dasin Elementary School in Taichung City were admitted to hospital yesterday morning after being exposed to gas when Taiwan Water Corp workers accidentally cut a gas pipeline while repairing a water pipe valve near the school. Hospital officials said the students were treated for nausea and dizziness, but did not suffer any serious ailments as a result of the exposure to gas. The workers had been called to repair a damaged valve that was leaking water on Wenhsin Road near the school at about 10:30am. After cutting an unlabeled pipeline and discovering their mistake, they called Shin Chung Natural Gas Co to ask the company to dispatch workers to fix the problem. Lee Yue-chen (李月貞), principal of Dasin Elementary School, said that after the strong smell of gas was reported in several classrooms, he decided to evacuate the students to the athletic field on campus.

  ■ SCIENCE

  Three researchers honored

  One Taiwanese and two French scientists won this year's Taiwan-France Science and Technology Awards for achievements in chemistry and related areas, the National Science Council (NSC) said yesterday. The awards — established in 1999 based on an agreement between the NSC and the French Academy of Sciences — are issued to one or more distinguished scientists in Taiwan or France to honor their achievements in specific scientific areas each year. At the award ceremony in Paris on Tuesday, academy president Jules Hoffmann presented the awards to Peng Shie-ming (彭旭明) of National Taiwan University and Marc Benard and Marie-Madeleine Rohmer of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). According to the citation, the three scientists contributed greatly to advances in the study of low-dimensional nanostructures.

  ■ TRAVEL

  Taiwanese flock to Japan

  Taiwanese tourists made more than 1.22 million visits to Japan in the first 10 months of this year, representing an increase of 3.5 percent over the year-earlier level and making Taiwan the second-largest source of Japan's foreign tourists after South Korea, the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) said on Tuesday. JNTO figures also showed that Taiwanese tourists made 126,300 visits to Japan last month alone. Although the figure was down by 3.3 percent year on year, Taiwan was still the second-largest source of tourists for Japan last month after South Korea, with tourists from that country making about 188,000 visits. Foreign tourist arrivals in Japan totaled 7.28 million in the first 10 months of this year, representing an annual growth of 4.3 percent, JNTO statitics showed.
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