OBITUARY
Chen Lee Shen passes at 94
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) mother, Chen Lee Shen (陳李慎), 94, passed away yesterday of multiple organ failure and sepsis. Chen Shui-bian posted on Facebook that his mother died peacefully in her sleep at Madou Sin-Lau Hospital, saying that he thanked the doctors and nurses for their care of his mother over the past nine months. No public ceremony is to be held out of respect for his mother’s wishes, he added. Chen Lee Shen shared a close relationship with the former president and his incarceration left her distraught, until his medical parole, sources close to the family said. In her final years, Chen Lee Shen was concerned over whether her son would obtain a presidential pardon, the sources added. Chen Shui-bian was sentenced to 20 years in prison for money laundering and bribery, but was released on parole on Jan. 6, 2015, due to deteriorating health.
ENTERTAINMENT
Film festival announced
The Taipei Film Festival began accepting submissions on Friday for its Taipei Film Awards and International New Talent Competition. The Taipei Culture Foundation said that the talent competition is open to debut feature films or second efforts of filmmakers from around the world, while the film awards are for locally made films directed by Taiwanese or residents of Taiwan. All entrants must comply with the rules set by the Ministry of Culture, the foundation added. The talent competition winner would receive NT$600,000 (US$21,067), while the film award winner would receive NT$1 million. A Special Jury Prize of NT$300,000 would also be awarded in the talent competition. The Taipei Film Festival, now in its 23rd year, would show a series of Taiwanese and foreign films from June 24 to July 10.
HEALTH
Infant dies following blaze
A one-year-old child who was in critical condition after being rescued from a burning building in Kaohsiung early on Friday died yesterday morning, a local hospital said. The child, surnamed Chen (陳), died at the hospital from severe injuries, the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said, without disclosing further details about the girl’s death out of respect for the family’s privacy. She was the fourth person to die as a result of the blaze, which occurred at a four-story building owned by her family in Fongshan District (鳳山). Firefighters on the scene said that the three other victims were the child’s 33-year-old mother, who was calling for help from a third-floor window as she held her daughter. Still holding the child, the mother attempted to climb down a ladder that firefighters had raised, but she stumbled and fell. She died later that day from a severe head injury sustained in the fall. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
SOCIETY
Indonesian found drowned
A missing Indonesian man surnamed Lin (林), who reportedly fell off a boat on New Year’s Eve, was yesterday found dead on the banks of Wukugan Creek (五股坑) in New Taipei City, a police spokesperson said. The 19-year-old student allegedly lost his footing and fell into the Tamsui River (淡水河) at about 5am that day from a boat that Lin and 25 friends hired in Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area for a party. Lin was said to be intoxicated, police said. Two crew members called the police after they became aware of the situation and first responders searched the river, but to no avail, they said. Lin’s body was discovered by members of the public yesterday morning and police identified him by his clothes and a ring.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese