■ HEALTH
Taiwanese living longer
The estimated average life expectancy in Taiwan rose last year to 78.97 years, 0.4 years longer than in 2008, the Ministry of the Interior said in a report released on Monday. The estimated figure was calculated before complete birth and death data for last year was available. The actual number will be released in May when full data has been obtained, the ministry said. Compared with 1995 when the projected life expectancy was 74.53 years, the latest figures show the life span of Taiwanese has gained 4.44 years over the past decade and a half, the report said. The average life expectancy last year was estimated at 75.88 years for men and 82.46 years for women, increases of 0.29 years and 0.52 years respectively from a year ago. The ministry attributed the rising life expectancy to a declining death rate as a result of the nation’s improved medical environment.
■ SOCIETY
‘Avatar’ proves too much
A 42-year-old man with a history of high blood pressure died of a stroke likely triggered by excitement from watching the movie Avatar in 3D, a doctor said yesterday. The man, identified only by his surname Kuo (郭), started to feel unwell during a screening in Hsinchu City earlier this month. He was unconscious when he arrived at the Nanmen General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was hemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said. “It is likely that over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,” Peng said. Kuo died 11 days later from the brain hemorrhage. The Chinese-language China Times said it was the first death linked to watching Avatar. Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of Avatar and other 3D movies.
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
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
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