■ HEALTH
H1N1 toll now at 46
A 37-year-old man died of influenza A (H1N1) five days ago, bringing the number of H1N1 deaths in the country to 46 since the outbreak of the virus early last year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The latest H1N1 fatality was also the fourth in 10 days, following the deaths of a 21-year-old female university student and a 24-year-old man, CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said. In the most recent case, the patient developed flu symptoms early this month but did not seek medical attention until July 19, Chou said. After the patient’s condition began to worsen on July 23, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of a hospital where he died three days later, Chou said. Except for a 17-year-old patient, none of the victims who have died of H1N1 in Taiwan had been vaccinated against the virus.
■ FILM
Hsu, Sun up for awards
Director Hsu Li-kong (徐立?nd actor-turned-charity volunteer Sun Yueh (孫越) have been named by the Golden Horse Film Festival to receive special awards for their contribution to the local film industry, the festival organizer said. The Golden Horse Awards will present a lifetime achievement award to Hsu and a special contribution award to Sun. Hsu and Sun will receive the honors at this year’s awards ceremony on Nov. 20 in Taoyuan County. Hsu, one of the co-founders of the Golden Horse Film Festival, has helped cultivate several directors including Ang Lee (李安), Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) and others who have earned awards at film festivals in Berlin and Venice. Sun is a two-time Golden Horse award winner. He has devoted himself completely to charity work since retiring in 1989.
■ AGRICULTURE
Taitung pig sales suspended
Butchers and pig suppliers in Taitung County will suspend sales for 11 days during the period July 30 to Aug. 31 because of low supplies. The pork market in Taitung usually closes for a few days each summer ahead of the Ghost Festival in August when demand tends to rise sharply, but sales have never been suspended for more than seven days at a time. However, this year there has been a shortage of pork because of high summer temperatures, which affect the survival rate of pigs, and because pig stocks were depleted by Typhoon Morakot in August last year, said Wu Tze-he (吳子和), who is in charge of livestock production affairs in the Taitung County Government. This month, temperatures in Taitung have ranged on average between 25 ºC and 32 ºC.
■ CRIME
Executives sentenced
Taipei District Court sentenced yesterday Hu Hung-chiu (胡洪九), the former chief financial officer of Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Co (太平洋電線電纜), to 18 years in prison for embezzlement, conversion and forgery. The court also fined him NT$1 billion (US$30 million). Meanwhile, two former chairmen of Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Co, Jack Sun (孫道存) and Tung Ching-yun (仝清筠), were also respectively sentenced to four years and three years and two months in prison. Hu, also former chairman of chipmaker Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽), was indicted on charges of stealing about NT$17.1 billion from 1993 to 1998 when he worked at the company. The ruling found Sun guilty of conspiring with Hu in the embezzlement. It also ruled Tung of having embezzled NT$54 million from Pacific Electric in 2002 through fake business transactions.
Staff Writer, with CNA
Tainan City Councilor Lu Kun-fu (盧崑福) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday sparked further controversy when he echoed remarks by KMT caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) should be executed for an increase in domestic COVID-19 cases. Chen heads the Central Epidemic Command Center. Lu at a question-and-answer session at the Tainan City Council said that a lapse in disease prevention measures at China Airlines, which has led to a cluster infection, could have been controlled. However, as the airline’s pilots were allowed a shortened quarantine period of three days and were placed
DATA-DRIVEN: The dedicated department used big data to find sexual harassment hot spots on the Mass Rapid Transit system to take measures against perpetrators Most incidents of sexual harassment and secret photography in Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system over the past five years occurred at three stations, the Rapid Transit Division of the Taipei City Police Department said in a statement yesterday. Most incidents were recorded at Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT Station, followed by Taipei Main and Zhongxiao-Dunhua MRT stations, the department said, adding that the results were obtained through big data analysis. The system, which serves Taipei and New Taipei City, handles about 2.2 million passengers per day, and most cases of secret photography and sexual harassment — usually involving touching a victims buttocks or chest
‘STAY CALM’: The nation has more than 800 million masks in stock and can produce up to 40 million a day, while hand sanitizer stocks are also sufficient The nation has an ample supply of masks to meet demand amid concerns over an increase in the number of domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. Taiwan has more than 800 million masks in stock, with daily production of 18.3 million units on average and maximum daily capacity of 40 million units, the ministry said on Facebook. The ministry’s assurance came after Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), on Monday said that the nation has entered the community transmission stage after several new domestic
EYES AND EARS: The navy has commissioned the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to manufacture radars to upgrade the nation’s naval monitoring stations A military enthusiast yesterday posted photographs of Taiwanese F-16 jets taking off from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with two refueling aircraft, presumably returning to Taiwan from the US for upgrades. Asked about the matter, the Ministry of National Defense declined to comment. The jets had been part of training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and had briefly landed in Honolulu, where the photographer, Aeros808, had spotted them, a source said. The jets did not land in Guam, which had been done in 1996 when the US Air Force delivered F-16s to Taiwan, the source said, adding that the
RSS