■SOCIETY
Beef shipments pass test
The shipment of US bone-in beef that arrived in Taiwan on Friday obtained import inspection certificates from the Bureau of Standards, Meteorology and Inspection, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection, and Quarantine and Customs yesterday. The 163kg of beef products, shipped in six packages, will hit the market soon, customs officials said. The shipments were approved based on the principles of “three controls, five certifications.” The three controls refer to the controls on the beef products at the source, at borders and in markets. The five certifications are related to verifying US documentation, checking that shipments are marked with detailed product information, opening a high percentage of the containers to check the product, conducting food safety tests and being able to obtain immediate information on any suspected problems. Another shipment is scheduled to arrive on Friday.
■HEALTH
Preserved fruit fail tests
Nearly 30 percent of dried fruit and pickled vegetables on the market do not meet safety standards because they contain excessive levels of additives, a Taipei City health official said yesterday. The city’s Department of Health recently conducted random inspections of 97 samples of dried fruit and pickled and dehydrated vegetable products sold in hypermarkets, traditional markets and the Dihua Street Commercial Circle, said Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美), director of the Food and Drug Division. Twenty-six of the samples, or 26.8 percent, failed to pass food safety tests, she said, while 11 were improperly labeled. Seventeen of the 51 samples of dried fruit — or 33 percent — did not meet standards because they contained excessive amounts of artificial sweetener or cyclamate, Chiang said. One manufactured in Changhua County was found to contain cyclamate levels 20 times higher than the permissible amount, she said. Nine of the 35 pickled vegetable samples failed because they contained excessive levels of benzoic acid. In the case of five manufacturers, it was the second straight year their products failed to meet safety standards, so the health department will ask them to pull the products from store shelves, Chiang said.
■SOCIETY
Taiwan’s ranking rises
Taiwan inched forward in the latest annual quality-of-life index published by European travel magazine International Living. In this year’s issue, released last week, the magazine ranked Taiwan 57th among the 192 countries surveyed — an improvement of two places. Taiwan ranked above Singapore and China, but below Japan and South Korea, while France placed first. Taiwan garnered high marks for its environment, healthcare and freedoms, but lost out because of the high cost of living and dismal economy. The publication also considers leisure, culture and climate, using an analysis of data from official sources, including government Web sites, the WHO and the UN.
■SOCIETY
Zoo ready for lemurs
Kaohsiung City’s Shoushan Zoo is ready to welcome lemurs from Madagascar, spokesman Chang Po-yu (張博宇) said yesterday. Chang said the zoo had prepared an area to accommodate lemurs after it completed its renovation last year. The former speaker of the Madagascar Congress, Voninahitsy Jean Eugene, told Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) during a visit on Friday that he would help the city import lemurs. Chen told him that Taiwanese had developed an interest in the animals because of the animated film Madagascar.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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