The government should not cut electricity prices unless air pollution, especially the extremely high levels of PM2.5 that are harmful to children’s health, is improved, a group of physicians and academics said yesterday.
Cheap electricity is mainly provided by pollution-spewing coal-fired power plants and cutting electricity prices could boost power consumption, they said.
Studies have shown that exposure to PM2.5 pollution can harm cardiopulmonary function, increase the risks of developing asthma, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and several infectious diseases, and is likely associated with fetal growth restriction, the Taiwan Pediatrics Association said.
People with chronic diseases, pregnant women, elderly people and children are vulnerable subjects to PM2.5 pollution, it said.
“A child’s body needs to be protected when it is growing, but if it is harmed by airborne fine particulate matter during its development stage, the damage to their health may be permanent,” said Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎), association secretary-general and a pediatrician at National Taiwan University Hospital.
Lee said that burning materials creates airborne particles and toxic substances often attach to these particles, so when people breathe in these fine particles, they settle deep in the lungs and can get absorbed into blood and blood vessels.
About 40 percent of PM2.5 pollution in the nation is blown in from other areas beyond national borders, but households can also lower PM2.5 emissions by reducing the use of candles, incense and gas heaters and refrain from smoking cigarette or barbecuing, he said.
National Taiwan University Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene professor Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said that a long-term study on children living near the nation’s sixth naphtha cracker complex in Yunlin County showed that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution have a higher prevalence of asthma (by 1.63 times), bronchitis (3.05 times) and allergic rhinitis (3.53 times) than those exposed to lower levels.
Aside from naphtha crackers, coal-fired power plants are a major source of PM2.5, he said.
The increased use of coal-fired power plants for cheap electricity could come at the expense of people’s health, he said.
The air quality in central and southern Taiwan often reach hazardous levels and the government should not cut energy prices unless air pollution problems are improved, or people might just have to pay more on medical bills because of health problems, he said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV