SOCIETY
Police escort giraffe south
The Taipei Zoo on Wednesday thanked police for escorting Hsiaochang (宵璋) to Hsinchu County for mating. The two-year-old giraffe was coaxed into its travel crate in the early hours and loaded onto a vehicle headed for Leofoo Village Theme Park, which is more than 60km away. To maintain the genetic diversity of its animals, the zoo sent one giraffe to Wanpi World Safari Zoo in Tainan for mating in 2008 and again in 2013. Preparations for transporting the 3m-tall, 315kg-heavy Hsiaochang to Leofoo Village began six months ago. His keeper said giraffes are naturally suspicious and highly sensitive, so to make Hsiaochang willingly move into the travel crate, starting in December last year, he was fed vitamins and other nutrients to boost his immune system, and last month, the crate was placed in his enclosure with his favorite leaves hanging inside to induce him to enter.
TOURISM
Park celebrates six years
A series of promotional activities are being held in Kinmen to mark Houpu 16 Creative Park’s sixth anniversary. During the celebrations, which started on Tuesday and run through Sunday in the Houpu Township (后浦) park, shoppers who check in on Facebook in one of the park’s 11 stores will be given brownie cookies, the park’s management committee said. The park, which was built around 16 traditional townhouses, was renovated in 2003 following its official designation as a national heritage site. Prior to renovation, the buildings had narrowly escaped demolition by land developers who wanted to build five-star hotels on the site. The park is known for products such as blown glassware, stone carvings and wooden charms and amulets, and is home to tea houses, beer gardens and restaurants.
HEALTHCARE
Bill to extend coverage
Children born to foreign nationals who reside in Taiwan legally are to be automatically covered by the National Health Insurance program, according to a draft bill that passed an initial review by a legislative committee yesterday. Under the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法), children born to foreign nationals in Taiwan are not eligible for health insurance until they are six months old. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) proposed the revision. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, in a report submitted to the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, said that babies born to Taiwanese are automatically covered by the system and that newborns of foreign nationals should be treated the same way.
TRANSPORTATION
Additional trains planned
The nation’s two rail operators yesterday said they would provide additional services from Friday next week to May 31 to meet high expected demand for holiday travel during the Dragon Boat Festival. Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said that 162 trains would be added to its regular routes — 68 northbound and 94 southbound — bringing the total to 973. Booking for the holiday period is to begin today at midnight, it said. The Taiwan Railways Administration said it would provide six additional trains on its Hualien and Taitung counties’ routes during the period, with online booking to start today at 6am. The administration’s online ticketing system requires passengers’ names and national identification numbers, as it aims to give priority to residents of Hualien and Taitung during the holiday period, particularly for travel on six Tzuchiang-class express trains. The Dragon Boat Festival falls on May 30 this year, with the holiday extending from May 27 to May 30.
EMPLOYMENT
Ministry to launch job card
In order to combat youth unemployment, the government plans to launch a job card that provides access to career counseling, vocational training and job introduction, the Ministry of Labor announced yesterday. Government statistics showed that the unemployment rate in March was 3.78 percent, but it was 12.37 percent for those aged 20 to 25 and 6.64 percent for those aged 25 to 29. To help young people find jobs, the ministry is to adopt a system similar to Japan’s “Job card system,” it said, adding that the program would initially target young people who have been unemployed for a long time. More details are to be unveiled by the end of this year, the ministry said, adding that the card would incorporate career counseling and vocational training, as well as bring businesses and job seekers together.
SOCIETY
Special prizes unclaimed
Seven January-February uniform invoice receipts — each bearing the number 82885130, entitling them to a NT$10 million (US$330,852) cash prize — have yet to be claimed, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The ministry reminded the holders of the winning receipts to come forward for the prize before the deadline of July 5, because the money would remain in state coffers if unclaimed. A total of 17 sales invoices issued in January and February carry the special prize number of the nation’s uniform invoice lottery for the two-month period, the ministry said. Apart from the unclaimed NT$10 million special prize, there are also three grand prize winners from the period who have not claimed the prize of NT$2 million each, it added. The winning number for the grand prize is 59729884.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
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