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.
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
RSS