TRANSPORTATION
MRT alters announcements
Taipei’s MRT is to rearrange the order of local and foreign-language announcements, moving English ahead of other languages after Mandarin Chinese, to make travel easier for foreign visitors, its operator said yesterday. The announcements in the carriages are to follow the order of Mandarin Chinese, English, Taiwanese then Hakka, according to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. The company said moving the English announcements — previously broadcast last — would make travel in Taipei more convenient for foreigners. The new broadcast system is expected to be installed in all trains by tomorrow, the company said. The change followed a demand by a city councilor last month. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Wei-chung (王威中), who represents Taipei’s Shilin (士林) and Beitou (北投) districts, said that putting the English version last might leave non-Chinese speakers little or no time to act if they want to get off a train.
WEATHER
Pollution high in the south
The air quality in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County remained poor yesterday, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said. The PM2.5 indicator in Kaohsiung and Pingtung ranged between level four and level nine on the 10-point scale, the EPA said, adding that the rest of the nation and the outlying islands saw the indicator stay below level four. Level seven or higher on the PM2.5 index, which measures the concentration of pollution by particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller, indicates enough pollution to cause discomfort and health problems, according to the EPA. It was the third consecutive day of high PM2.5 levels for Kaohsiung and neighboring Pingtung, because of a lack of wind to disperse pollutants in the air. Older people and people with chronic lung problems or heart disease should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical activity in the affected areas, the EPA said.
TRANSPORTATION
Taipei, Osaka sister stations
Taipei Railway Station and West Japan Railway Co’s Osaka Station became sister stations on Friday, with Taipei-Osaka commemorative tickets selling out shortly after going on sale. Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that Taipei Railway Station handles more than 500,000 passengers per day and is a transportation hub like Osaka Station. Becoming sister stations would allow the two entities to affirm their friendship, Chou said, adding that the two stations would also introduce mutually beneficial measures in the future.
HEALTH
Cancer drug approved by US
A cancer drug developed in Taiwan has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug’s developers said. The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) said the drug, called Onivyde, has proved effective in treating pancreatic cancer, which is generally known to have a very poor survival rate. The institute said the drug could raise the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients from 6 percent to 50 percent. Chen Li-tjong (陳立宗), an NHRI researcher who headed the project, said the FDA’s approval of Onivyde on Oct. 22 was a first for Taiwan-made cancer drugs and represented a significant breakthrough in Taiwan’s efforts to develop such drugs. According to the WHO, about 330,000 people across the world die of pancreatic cancer each year. In Taiwan, 1,500-1,800 people per year are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and the survival rate is 20-25 percent, Chen said.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
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