HEALTH
H7N9 tests return negative
All 94 people who came into contact with a Chinese tourist who had the H7N9 avian flu virus have tested negative for the virus, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday. Test results on Tuesday confirmed the Chinese woman had the influenza strain, health officials said. Two other people in her tour group who had developed related symptoms have tested negative for the virus, the centers said. Results of tests on other people, including members of the woman’s family, members of the tour group and some passengers on her flight to Taiwan, have all come back negative, it said. However, 71 people are receiving assistance to help prevent the spread of the virus, it said. While the woman remains hospitalized, the other 32 tour group members left Taiwan yesterday, the centers said.
FOOD SAFETY
Rice-product bill reviewed
Lawmakers yesterday began a review of a bill that would raise the penalties 20-fold for mislabeling, adulteration and false advertising of rice products. The proposed amendment to the Food Administration Act (違反糧食管理法案件處分裁量作業要點) would increase the maximum fine for the offenses from NT$200,000 (US$6,600) to NT$4 million. The maximum fine for manufacturers who refuse an inspection by authorities or fail to disclose their contact information would be increased from NT$150,000 to NT$3 million. Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said the proposed changes are aimed at preventing manufacturers from blending domestic rice with cheaper imports and passing the products off as purely domestic. Consumers should be given the information necessary to allow them to make informed choices, he said.
FOOD SAFETY
Customs cracks cone case
A 66kg shipment of a brand of South Korean ice cream cones has been blocked from entering the country after the discovery of saccharin, a controlled substance. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said in a regular weekly report on customs inspections that the Honey Creme cones contained 70mg of saccharin per kilogram. Administration official Hsu Chin-feng (徐錦豐) said that national standards permit the use of saccharin only in watermelon seeds, preserved fruits, soft drinks and special nutrients. For seeds, 2g per kilogram is the maximum allowable level, while for soft drinks it is 200mg per kg. As the saccharin level in the cones is low, the cones already imported do not pose a health hazard, he added. A Taipei company imported three batches of the cones last month and this month. The saccharin was found during a random inspection of the second shipment, but the other two were not checked.
SOCIETY
Jewelry-laden purse found
A police officer on Wednesday found a purse with more than NT$1.3 million (US$42,900) in jewelry at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and returned it to a Hong Kong tourist. While on duty in the airport’s Terminal 2, officer Chao Chung-ming (趙中銘) saw a red purse on a bank counter. It was found to contain a woman’s diamond watch, a 2-carat diamond ring, a pair of pearl earrings and other valuables, worth more than NT$1.3 million. The police checked surveillance video and identified a Hong Kong woman as the purse’s owner, after checking lists of arriving passengers. The travel agency that had booked the woman’s trip was contacted and helped confirm that the tourist had lost her purse. The woman went to the airport on Wednesday to collect her lost valuables and thank Chao.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
RSS