HEALTH
New HIV/AIDS cases fall
The number of new HIV/AIDS patients in Taiwan last year fell from the previous year for the first time since 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). A total of 2,236 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS last year, fewer than the 2,244 diagnosed in 2013, the CDC said. The biggest decline was seen in the 25-to-34 age group, which saw newly diagnosed patient numbers fall to 979 from 1,016 in 2013, followed by the 15-to-24 age group, with a decline from 664 to 658 cases, the agency said. Nationwide there were 1,643 new HIV/AIDS patients in 2009, down from 1,739 in 2008. The CDC said most patients contracted the disease from unprotected sex.
WATERWAYS
Liugongjun to flow again
National Taiwan University said it plans to rejuvenate a 200-year-old waterway that crosses underneath the campus with water from the Xindian River and recycled rainwater. Part of the Liugongjun — a canal system that once ran across Taipei, but was mostly covered over by roads amid urbanization — will see sunlight again, Office of General Affairs dean Wang Gen-shuh (王根樹) said. The major hurdle that prevented the school from launching the project 10 years ago — a lack of a ready water source — could be solved with technology, he said. Plans for the project originally anticipated the need for more than 1,000 cubic meters of water per day, but new technology will limit the water’s depth to 25cm and keep it flowing with only about 200 cubic meters of water a day, Wang said, adding that the waterway will be linked up to Drunken Moon Lake on campus. The program is expected to take three years to complete at a cost of NT$100 million (US$3.13 million), Wang said.
HEALTH
Haze leave up in air: official
Whether the government should allow “haze leave” due to heavy air pollution needs discussion, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) said yesterday. Taiwan is easily affected by haze from China in winter due to strong northeasterly winds, Wei said. “Taiwan should have a pre-warning system for air pollution, but the formulation of a haze leave system needs to be discussed,” he said. Wei said the Ministry of Education has formulated criteria for class suspensions in elementary schools to allow children with asthma or allergy problems to receive special care when haze reaches serious levels, while the average child would only have to suspend outdoor activities. “Whether adults should get haze leave and the criteria for such leave will need further discussion,” he said.
POLITICS
Ma visits Chiang mausoleum
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) paid his respects to former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) at his mausoleum in Taoyuan’s Dasi (大溪) yesterday, the 27th anniversary of Chiang’s death. Ma was accompanied by a group of senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials led by Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who has served as the party’s acting chairman since Ma stepped down last month. Ma has visited Chiang’s mausoleum every year on the anniversary of the former president’s death.
MUSIC
Violinist praises arts patrons
Two-time Grammy award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn yesterday said that she was looking forward to playing in Taiwan, describing local arts patrons as warm and knowledgeable. Ten years after her first performance in the nation, the US musician told a press conference in Taipei that she was happy to be back because the audience last time was very welcoming and knew a lot about music. Hahn is to hold a concert at the National Concert Hall in Taipei today, playing Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Opus 105, Debussy’s Violin Sonata in G minor, L 140, Bach’s Violin Partita No. 3 in E major, BMV 1006 and selections from her own album In 27 Pieces. One of the most popular classical music stars in the US, Hahn won the Grammy awards for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with orchestra) in 2001 and 2008.
HEALTH
Missions aid thousands
The nation’s medical missions in Africa have benefited more than 100,000 people in Burkina Faso, Swaziland, and Sao Tome and Principe over the past two decades, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The ministry has been working closely with local hospitals to help improve medical services and public health among its African allies, said John Lai (賴建中), director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs. To improve medical services in the three countries, Taiwanese medical missions have been transferring medical skills and concepts to hospitals there since 1996, the ministry said, adding that more than 100,000 people have benefited from the cooperative programs. Taiwan has also sent medical groups to offer short-term medical services and training programs for medical staff in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and its six diplomatic allies in the Pacific — Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands, the ministry said. These programs have helped more than 50,000 people, it added.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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