■ AGRICULTURE
High-yield millet developed
A new variety of millet that yields almost three times as much as regular millet has been developed, an agricultural research group said yesterday. The new millet, “Taitung No. 8,” can yield up to 3,000kg per hectare — almost 300 percent more than regular millet, according to the Council of Agriculture’s Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station. The research station said the high-yield millet is also easy to plant because it does not need as much water as rice and can even be used as a substitute for rice during periods of drought. Millet contains vitamins A, B2, B6, B12 and E, which are rarely found in most grains, as well as traces of selenium, a mineral that also offers health benefits, the station said. The new variety will be made available to Aboriginal communities for planting and it is hoped that more millet-based food products will be developed to help diversify the agricultural industry, it said.
■ CRIME
Fraud raids nab 450
Police from Taiwan and China nabbed 450 suspects yesterday in the largest-ever joint crackdown on fraud rings operating on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Criminal Investigation Bureau Director Lin Te-hua (林德華) said the raids were launched simultaneously in Taiwan’s 12 counties and cities and the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Huanan, Hubei, Anhui, Guangdong and Guangxi, and Chongqing City. About 548 Taiwanese law enforcement officers and 2,720 Chinese police took part in the operation. In Taiwan, 121 people were arrested and NT$11 million (US$343,000) was seized. Computers, cellphones, servers, forged seals, fake courier uniforms, pistols, “manuals” on fraud and bank books were also seized. In China, officers arrested 329 suspects. Taiwan police said fraud rings swindle people by posing as prosecutors, failing to deliver goods bought on Web sites, convincing victims to remit money via ATMs and delivering only empty boxes to people who purchased goods.
■ MILITARY
Ban on shut-eye criticized
The military has banned its soldiers from napping — or even closing their eyes — while wearing their uniforms in public, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The ban immediately met a hail of criticism, including from soldiers who say they are being treated like robots. “Servicemen should avoid napping or resting with their eyes closed while taking public transportation to maintain the image of the armed forces,” the ministry said in a statement. The statement came after local media reported that the new rule had sparked criticism from some soldiers. “It’s ridiculous. We aren’t robots,” the Chinese-language United Daily News quoted an unnamed soldier as saying. “Our superiors really have nothing better to do. There are matters more worthy of their attention and instead they are busying themselves with such trivial issues,” another soldier said. With night maneuvers an integral part of military training, it is not uncommon to see servicemen napping on trains or buses.
■ CROSS-STRAIT
Taiwan to aid flooded areas
Taiwan will donate US$1 million for relief and reconstruction in areas of China hit hard by recent flooding that left more than 1,000 dead and hundreds missing, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. “The donation is to be made on humanitarian grounds in the wake of the floods that have devastated Gansu Province’s Zhouqu, and other parts of China,” the MAC said. Mudslides brought by flooding on Aug. 7 nearly leveled Zhouqu.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
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