■ HEALTH
COA downplays food fears
The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday urged the public not to panic over news that South Korean livestock were infected by foot-and-mouth disease, saying no meat liable to be affected by the disease has been imported from South Korea in more than a decade. Taiwan last imported South Korean beef in 1989, and has not imported pork and mutton from there since 1999 and 1997 respectively, the council said. South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday that six cows at a farm about 45km north of Seoul tested positive for foot-and-mouth disease. The disease last hit South Korea in 2002, when 160,000 pigs either died of the disease or were slaughtered to prevent its spread, the ministry said.
■ SAFETY
Gas leaks killed 33 last year
Sixteen people were killed in 33 cases of carbon poisoning reported nationwide last year, statistics released on Thursday by the National Fire Agency (NFA) show. Seventy-five people were injured in the incidents, which were caused by poor air circulation because of improper indoor installation of gas-powered water heaters. The NFA said it would continue to promote a drive to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning that was launched last year. The project provides NT$3,000 subsidies to low-income families who install new water heaters safely. In addition, new laws require sellers of gas water heaters to dispatch qualified technicians to help buyers install them properly.
■ CHARITY
Salvadoran facility opened
A nursing home for seniors built with funds from a Taiwanese charitable group in the US formally opened on Thursday in Cojutepeque, El Salvador. A dedication ceremony on Thursday to mark the home’s opening was attended by Cojutepeque Mayor Rosa Guadalupe Serrano, Taiwan’s Ambassador to El Salvador Carlos Liao (廖世傑) and SimplyHelp president Tina Bow, among others. The housing project is the third of its kind launched in El Salvador by the SimplyHelp foundation, a group formed by Taiwanese expats living in the US that is dedicated to empowering people living in poverty worldwide, an official at Taiwan’s embassy in El Salvador said. The nursing home is expected to house 40 impoverished senior citizens, the official said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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