■HEALTH
Hu pushes no-smoking
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday he would see to it that the percentage of adult smokers in the city drops below 20 percent within one year. Hu said he was pleased that only 21 percent of adult city residents smoke regularly, compared with the national average of 28 percent since the amended Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act took effect on Jan. 11. Hu asked residents to try harder to quit. He said the city government would launch more anti-smoking campaigns in the hope that Taichung will eventually become a non-smokers’ paradise.
■CULTURE
Hau inks peony MOU
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and the mayor of Matsue, Japan, Masataka Matsuura, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday to include Matsue in the 2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition scheduled to open on Nov. 6 next year. “The memorandum not only marks the beginning of horticulture exchanges between Taipei and Matsue, but will also inject new vitality into the flower industries in both cities,” Hau told a press conference. He said Matsue was known for its 55-year development of the peony industry and was the world’s No. 1 grower of the ornamental flower, producing 2 million blooms every year in some 300 varieties. The peony, which is believed to symbolize happiness and prosperity, has long been one of the favorite flowers in Chinese culture. Hau said that he thinks visitors will be amazed by the Matsue peony exhibition. Matsuura said he was honored to have the chance to join the 2010 Taipei expo to introduce to people in Taiwan and to international visitors the beauty of peonies.
■CRIME
Victim shocks groper
A man was stunned to find that a long-haired, skirt-wearing victim he groped in a packed train was not a woman, cable news network TVBS reported yesterday. The 51-year-old man first touched the 20-year-old’s waist and then caressed his victim’s behind for more than 10 minutes before the victim shouted for help, TVBS quoted police as saying. At the police station, officers offered the victim the opportunity to report the incident to a policewoman to avoid embarrassment, only to learn that “she” was a “he.” The suspect begged police to pardon him and said he should not be charged with sexual harassment since the victim was a man. But the police said it was harassment all the same and charged the alleged assailant.
■HEALTH
Safe sex for teens urged
Taipei City’s Department of Health appealed to teenagers yesterday to use condoms during intercourse. As abortion rates among teenagers tend to surge after school vacations, the department urged students to practice safe sex to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV. The number of teenagers in the city infected with STDs last year was twice the figure for 2007, the department said. The youngest person with a reported case of syphilis in Taipei last year was just 14, while the youngest person with a case of condyloma or AIDS was 17, the department said. From 2007 to last year, among the 15 to 19-year-old age group, the number of AIDS infections went up from one to five, the number of HIV infections increased from five to nine, while syphilis infections increased from 13 to 22 and condyloma infections grew from eight to 17. More than 77 percent of the teenagers became infected with STDs via unprotected sex, the department said.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
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