HEALTH
CDC offers avian flu shots
The government has begun providing free vaccinations against avian influenza strain H5N1 to people at high risk of contracting the virus, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said yesterday. By the end of last month, 12 cases of H5N1 infections in humans had been reported in Cambodia, China and Egypt, Chou said. The highly pathogenic virus was also found in smuggled pet birds at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last year, Chou added. From now until Aug. 31, the CDC will provide free shots of the H5N1 vaccine to certain high-risk groups, including staff at laboratories that work with the virus, as well as those who work in quarantine units, the Coast Guard Administration, airports and customs points, Chou said. Pregnant women are advised against having the vaccination, he added.
MILITARY
Live-fire exercise planned
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Friday said it would stage a live-fire exercise next month on a disputed South China Sea island. The drill will take place on Taiping Island (太平島) from April 9 to April 11. The island is part of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), a sprawling chain claimed in whole or in part by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei. Among other weaponry, the drill will involve 40mm artillery and 120mm mortars, both shipped to the island last year to boost defense capability in the Spratlys, the CGA said. Taiping is the biggest island in the Spratlys and has long been governed by Taiwan, which maintains a small coast guard garrison there. Vietnam voiced anger after Taiwan moved the new, longer-range artillery and mortars to the island last year.
SOCIETY
Taipei cleanup planned
A Japanese civic group that came to Taiwan last year to help clean up the streets will relaunch the program in Taipei later this month to thank the nation for its humanitarian relief after the March 11, 2011, tsunami and earthquake in Japan. The Nagoya, Japan-based non-government organization Earth (NGO Earth) said it decided to visit the nation again because it was impressed by Taiwanese’s passion and hospitality. The group was joined by more than 200 locals who helped pick up trash in downtown Taipei last year. While last year’s event was organized by the Japanese group, the campaign this year will also be coordinated by a local organization, highlighting the friendship between Taiwan and Japan, NGO Earth said. Collection will take place between 1:45pm and 5:30pm on March 9, and will start at Taipei Municipal Song Shan Primary School.
TOURISM
Thai trains showcase sights
Trains painted with scenic attractions and Taiwanese snacks on Friday arrived at Siam Station, the largest and busiest stop in Bangkok’s mass transit system as part of efforts to promote Thai travel to Taiwan. The trains, bearing the logo “Time for Taiwan,” showcase the Taipei 101 skyscraper and the scenic Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), as well as signature foodstuffs such as bubble milk tea and soup with dumplings. The advertisements were launched by the Tourism Bureau amid a growing interest among Thais in traveling to Taiwan. Interest in visiting Taiwan has grown rapidly in Thailand over the past two years, and the country has posted a higher growth in visitors than any other Southeast Asian nation, travel operators said.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11