POLITICS
Clean election force formed
A joint law-enforcement task force was created yesterday aimed at preventing vote-buying and other illegal activities in Taipei during the campaigns for the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections. The “Task Force to Investigate Election Bribery and Violence” was organized by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, the Taipei office of the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau and the Taipei City Police Department. The task force is to be deployed to investigate alleged vote-buying activities, and protect voters and candidates from threats of violence, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The initiative is aimed at cracking down on vote-buying in the most efficient way to ensure a clean general election next year, the statement said.
CULTURE
Violinist Tseng to perform
Taiwanese violinist Tseng Yu-chien (曾宇謙) has agreed to perform alongside the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra when it gives two concerts in Taipei in November, Management of New Arts (MNA) said yesterday. Led by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, the orchestra is to perform at the National Concert Hall on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20, MNA said. The 20-year-old Tseng won the silver medal in the violin category of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition last month; a gold medal was not awarded this year in the category. Ticketing information for the two concerts is to be announced on Thursday, MNA said.
TOURISM
Wi-Fi access more available
International visitors can now enjoy wireless Internet access by applying for an account through the iTaiwan online registration system, the National Development Council said. The council said it has worked with the Tourism Bureau and the Ministry of the Interior to streamline the registration process for foreign visitors. It said the number of iTaiwan hotspots is continuing to expand and is expected to reach 23,000 when the New Taipei City Government joins the service next month.
SOCIETY
Disaster drills scheduled
The government plans to hold disaster prevention exercises from Sept. 21 to Sept. 23 to improve public readiness to respond to natural disasters, the Cabinet’s Disaster Prevention Planning Office said yesterday. The exercises are to include a series of disaster prevention events, including an online earthquake evacuation drill, earthquake evacuation drills on campuses nationwide, a tsunami warning drill and the distribution of post-disaster rescue and relief materials in cooperation with convenience stores. The online earthquake evacuation drill was recently developed by the Ministry of the Interior and made available through a Web site launched on Aug. 1 (www.comedrill.com.tw/).
CULTURE
Pingtung seeks record
Pingtung County Government said it is planning to make a bid for a Guinness World Record in Hengchun Township (恆春) in October. The Pingtung Cultural Affairs Department said it hopes to have 1,000 people play the yueqin (月琴), a two-string Taiwanese musical instrument, and sing ballads at the event, which is part of this year’s Hengchun Folk Music Festival. About 400 people have confirmed their participation in the record-setting bid so far, it said. Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) said the festival, which opens on Oct. 9, is aimed at promoting Hengchun folk music.
MIGRANT WORKERS
Talks to start on pay hikes
After an 18-year wage freeze, the government is to hold discussions on pay increases for domestic helpers with its main supplier countries later this month, the Ministry of Labor Affairs said on Sunday. Talks are slated to begin with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam through bilateral channels established with each country, the ministry said. The monthly wage of foreign domestic workers could be raised to between NT$16,840 and NT$17,500 from NT$15,840, the ministry said. If a wage increase is introduced, the new monthly wage will apply to newly arriving workers this year, while wages for those already working in the country will be coordinated with employers, the ministry said. As of the end of January, there were 556,412 migrant workers in the nation, with 208,486 employed as caregivers or home help, ministry data showed.
HEALTH
CDC warns on diarrhea
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) urged the public to pay attention to personal hygiene, as more diarrhea cases could be reported this summer. During the past one month, the number of people seeking treatment for gastrointestinal disorders was 590,986, compared with 563,574 cases reported during the same period last year, the CDC said in a statement. It warned especially against infectious diarrhea, most likely caused by noroviruses, salmonella and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The best way to prevent diarrhea is to wash hands with soap frequently and avoid raw food, the CDC said. According to its most recent survey of 1,100 people aged 18 or older in the nation, 50 percent of them do not wash their hands with soap before dining, while nearly 40 percent do not do so after using the toilet.
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
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