■ HEALTH
Warning on baby powder
The Department of Health yesterday said it had been informed by its South Korean counterpart that 11 South Korean baby powder products had been found to contain cancer-causing asbestos and asked the public not to use them. The DOH said it had launched an investigation to determine whether any of the tainted baby powders, made by seven South Korean manufacturers, were available in Taiwan. “Aside from these seven brands’ 11 products, other baby powder products available on the market are safe,” the DOH said in a press released yesterday. The Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs said asbestos has been banned in cosmetic products since 2005. Manufacturers in violation of the regulation are subject to one year in prison and a maximum fine of NT$150,000, the DOH said.
■ SOCIETY
‘Illicit’ screening announced
In observance of World Intellectual Property Rights Day, the American Cultural Center (ACC) and the National Geographic Society will hold a documentary film screening of Illicit: The Dark Trade, on April 29 from 10am to 12pm at the ACC. The film shows the shadowy web of illicit trade, where dangerous multibillion-dollar criminal networks threaten whole sectors of the world economy. The film follows undercover agents as they travel the globe to expose the dire consequences of the industry. Information about the screening is available by contacting Ms Lee at (02) 2723-3959 ext 230, at www.ait.org.tw or by writing to taipei@mail.ait.org.tw.
■ ENVIRONMENT
EPA defends car giveaways
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said at a press conference yesterday that it was not giving out cars “so that people can own them, but not drive them,” but rather to remind people that when they need to drive, they should opt for environmentally friendly models. The press release came after the administration caused a stir last week after announcing that to encourage people to sign its 10 “No Regret Carbon Reduction Vows” online, people who registered could win raffle prizes including four cars. The announcement drew heavy criticism from local media and environmental groups, which said the EPA must have been “damaged in the head” to give out cars at an event that encourages carbon reduction. In response, EPA minister Steven Shen (沈世宏) was quoted as saying that by owning cars people could help boost the economy — even if they did not need to drive them.
■ CULTURE
Baosheng festival opens
The annual Baosheng Cultural Festival opened yesterday at Taipei City’s Baoan Temple, featuring religious rituals and Taiwanese opera performances in the two-month event that runs through May 31. The temple has long been at the forefront of efforts to give traditional Taiwanese culture national and international exposure, and has emerged as a significant symbol of the nation’s temple culture. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) opened the ceremony by beating a gong and lauded the temple for its dedication to preserving the tradition. Ma also praised the temple for receiving honorable mention at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2003 for its ambitious restoration project and said his administration would work harder to promote traditional culture. The nation’s best folklore performance troupes will perform at 10am on Thursday. More than 20 opera groups will take turns presenting open-air traditional opera shows at 7pm every night until April 23.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
China’s newest Type-076 amphibious assault ship has two strengths and weaknesses, wrote a Taiwanese defense expert, adding that further observations of its capabilities are warranted. Jiang Hsin-biao (江炘杓), an assistant researcher at the National Defense and Security Research, made the comments in a report recently published by the institute about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military and political development. China christened its new assault ship Sichuan in a ceremony on Dec. 27 last year at Shanghai’s Hudong Shipyard, China’s Xinhua news agency reported. “The vessel, described as the world’s largest amphibious assault ship by the [US think tank] Center for Strategic and International
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