■ 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.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS