■CRIME
Police begin crackdown
Public places providing “special entertainment services,” such as KTV lounges, massage parlors, pubs and video game arcades, were affected yesterday by a nationwide police crackdown on gangster activity. Many of these businesses in the Taipei and Kaohsiung metropolitan areas were found to have far fewer customers than usual during surprise early morning checks by police, local police said. The checks were part of a crackdown launched by the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday in an attempt to improve social order in the wake of recent public outrage at alleged police involvement in gang-related activities. The Kaohsiung City Police Bureau said its officers had raided 309 special businesses notorious as gangster hangouts, taking into custody more than 80 people suspected of violence or drug-related crime.
■DIPLOMACY
Wang plans ECFA review
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said the Legislative Yuan has the freedom to decide what form it would use to review the proposed cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) after it is signed. Under the Constitution, the legislature could decide whether to review it article by article, Wang said, adding that lawmakers can seek to revise the content of the pact during the review. Wang said he will discuss the matter with Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義). On Thursday evening, Wang said the legislature, which went into recess on Tuesday, might hold a provisional session next month to review the ECFA. The legislature might also hold another extra session in August if the legislature fails to complete the review next month, he added. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government has hoped to ink the agreement with China this month, with both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Wu having said that a signed ECFA would be subject to a legislative review before the agreement takes effect.
■HEALTH
Protein changes harm mice
A common type of protein modification may cause health problems, including osteoporosis and hair loss, according to the results of an international study led by Taiwanese scientists. The research, conducted on mice, reveals that defective palmitoylation resulted in hair loss, severe osteoporosis, cachexia, systemic amyloidosis and early death in the animals, Academia Sinica said in a statement released yesterday. Palmitoylation is a common protein modification that involves the addition of palmitate, a fatty acid, to proteins. The study found the defective palmitoylation was caused by a mutation in the Zdhhc13 gene. The study was published in the June 10 edition of international scientific journal PLoS Genetics.
■TOURISM
Alishan first-aid ready
The Department of Health (DOH) said it has recently set up two first-aid stations on Alishan (阿里山), one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, after more than 10 Chinese tourists died from poor health or acute disease while on tours. A first-aid station will also be set up at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), another “must-see” attraction for Chinese tourists, DOH officials said. KMT Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), said 17 Chinese tourists have died of non-accidental causes since Taiwan opened to cross-strait tourism in July 2008.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
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