TRADE
FDA seizes subpar foods
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday said that it discovered and intercepted 29 substandard food import items in the first two weeks of this month, many of which contained excessive levels of pesticide residue. Products that failed the check included fresh strawberries, melons and persimmons from Japan, as well as fresh cherries from Chile and ginseng from South Korea, the FDA said. Many of these items had been imported as Lunar New Year gifts, it said. Border inspections also found 2,779kg of edible bird’s nests from Vietnam that contained illegal preservatives, FDA division head Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕) said, adding that the products were either returned to their country of origin or destroyed in line with import regulations.
CRIME
Father of murdered kids dies
A military serviceman who on Sunday allegedly killed his two sons at their home in Taichung before jumping out of the building in a suicide attempt died yesterday after being in a coma for four days, China Medical University Hospital said. The 25-year-old air force mechanic surnamed Hsiao (蕭) died in an intensive care unit from severe injuries due to his suicide attempt after allegedly killing his two young sons aged 18 months and two years, on Sunday. Taichung police said that a note left by Hsiao showed that he committed the killings and attempted suicide after refusing to sign divorce papers for his wife. Autopsies performed on the two children indicated that the elder son had a stab wound on his neck, while the younger one appeared to have been strangled, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said on Tuesday.
ENTERTAINMENT
Ba Ge succumbs to cancer
Veteran TV host Ba Ge (巴戈) has died at the age of 67, friends in the entertainment industry said. Actor Chi Bo-ru (紀寶如) said Ba passed away from pancreatic cancer at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taoyuan on Wednesday evening. Born in 1954, Ba became a child actor at the age of eight. After graduating from what is now National Taiwan University of Arts, he began working for the Chinese Television System, going on to spend 36 years with the station as an actor and variety show host. Ba won the Golden Bell award for Best Host two years running in 1986 and 1987, and went on to win a third Golden Bell in 1991 for his variety show work with cohost Fang Fang-fang (方芳芳). Ba is survived by four children — two daughters, and two sons.
SOCIETY
Father Vonwyl passes at 90
Swiss missionary Father Gottfried Vonwyl of the Bethlehem Mission Society passed away on Sunday at Taitung St. Mary’s Hospital at the age of 90, after nearly six decades of service in Taiwan. Born in Switzerland in 1931, Vonwyl joined the Bethlehem Mission Society in 1956. After arriving in Taiwan in 1963, he served as a parish priest in Taitung, in charge of congregations in the parish community. Under his guidance, a kindergarten was opened in 1973 on a plot of land donated by the Bethlehem Mission Society, while a credit union was established in 1987 to provide loans for church-related construction or renovations. He was awarded “honorary citizenship of Taitung” in 2003 and granted Republic of China citizenship in 2017. The elderly missionary became wheelchair bound several years ago. A funeral mass is to be held tomorrow, the Bethlehem Mission Society said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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