SOCIETY
Man dies in scaffold collapse
A man was yesterday killed and six were injured in a scaffolding collapse on an oil terminal under construction at the Port of Kaohsiung. Another worker was still trapped as of press time last night. Their condition was described as lightly injured, but conscious. The Kaohsiung Fire Department said that it was notified at about 5:11pm of an incident at the port’s partially built oil terminal. The collpase is suspected to have been caused by a hydraulic failure in a jack that held up the platform, which plunged eight workers down the 40m-tall cylindrical structure. First responders from the department and the port’s fire brigade removed eight workers from the collapsed scaffolding, including a man surnamed Chung (鍾) who showed no signs of life. Taiwan International Ports Corp, which manages the port, said that the cause of the incident is being investigated.
HEALTH
Kaohsiung opens lab
The Kaohsiung City Government on Wednesday launched a NT$100 million (US$3.62 million) medical laboratory that is the first Good Tissue Practice cellular therapy center in southern Taiwan. The center is a joint creation of the municipal government, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital and Raypal Biomedical, a medical unit of Compal Electronics. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that technology surrounding the emerging field of cell therapy could become the next pillar of the Taiwanese economy, adding that the city government hopes the center will advance medicine, while providing better medical care and economic opportunities for Kaohsiung residents. The university said that the 132-hectare center houses two A2 biosafety cabinets and five Good Manufacturing Practice labs, each of which is equipped with six incubators, which means the facility can process 24 samples concurrently.
DIPLOMACY
Nation cuts Honduras tariffs
The government on Friday cut to zero tariffs on 25 goods imported from Honduras under a free-trade agreement, offering an incentive ahead of this month’s inauguration of a new president who had threatened to break off diplomatic ties. Honduras is one of only 14 countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Prior to winning the presidential election in November last year, Xiomara Castro of the Liberty and Refoundation Party said that if victorious, she might open diplomatic ties with China, but her team has since backtracked. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said that the import tariff cut on agricultural goods ranging from avocados to yogurt and pork bellies, originally agreed on in 2019, came into effect after completing legal procedures. The ministry said that since 2007, bilateral trade had grown from US$65.95 million to US$148 million last year, with Honduras being the largest source of frozen prawns imported into Taiwan.
CRIME
Judge rules in dog attack
The Shihlin District Court on Friday sentenced a woman surnamed Wang (王) to 55 days in jail after her German shepherd, Mary, bit former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭). Chang was bitten when attempting to separate his dog and Mary in a park on Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) on Feb. 13 last year, the ruling said. Wang’s two German shepherds were not muzzled and she was not near Mary when it chased Chang’s dog. Wang denied that Mary had bitten Chang. Wang’s jail sentence can be commuted to a NT$55,000 fine, and can be appealed.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
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