EDUCATION
Austronesian program opens
National Taitung University (NTTU) on Monday last week became the nation’s first higher education institution to offer a doctoral program in Austronesian culture. The Graduate Institute of Austronesian Studies has recruited one international and three Taiwanese students for the program’s first year, NTTU Center of Austronesian Culture spokesperson Chen Ying-ju (陳盈儒) said, adding that the classes are taught in English. Taitung County is home to seven indigenous communities of Austronesian descent: Amis, Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Pinuyumayan (also known as Puyuma), Yami (also known as Tao) and Kavalan. It is the most diverse region in Taiwan in terms of Austronesian culture, offering students a chance to apply their research to real-world scenarios and engage in intimate observations of how indigenous groups grapple with the challenges of modernity, Chen said.
CRIME
Gold fraud attempt foiled
Employees at a Bank of Taiwan branch and police in Tainan on Thursday prevented a 70-year-old woman falling victim to fraud. The woman, surnamed Cheng (鄭), told a bank teller that she wanted to withdraw enough money to buy 1.25kg of gold — about NT$2.15 million (US$71,786) — due to rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, police said. However, the teller, suspecting foul play, alerted police rather than going through with the transaction, they said. Police later questioned the woman and found that a suspected member of a fraud ring posing as a prosecutor had told her by telephone that her personal documents had been used illicitly and that she would have to buy gold at a local bank to pay a deposit to settle the issue.
AVIATION
Father, son die in crash
Police in Pingtung County are investigating the cause of a light aircraft crash that killed two people on Saturday. The deceased were identified as a father and son surnamed Chu (朱), who were 61 and 27 respectively, police said. The Pingtung Bureau of Fire and Emergency Services said it received a report at 5:48pm that a light aircraft had crashed near a gravel pit along the border of Yenpu (鹽埔) and Gaoshu (高樹) townships. First responders found the aircraft in flames, and the bureau dispatched 12 firetrucks, 22 firefighters and medical personnel to the scene, it said. The father and son were dead when found, it added.
HEALTH
Ice shops fail tests
Ten ice shops in Tainan and Kaohsiung failed to meet health standards following inspections last month, the Consumer Protection Committee said on Thursday. The committee inspected a total of 50 ice shops in the two cities, as well as Pingtung County. All 10 of the inspected shops in Pingtung met health standards, while five out of the 15 inspected shops in Tainan failed and five out of 25 shops failed in Kaohsiung, it said. Legislative amendments to sanitation laws added new categories of bacteria to be screened in edible ice products, such as shaved ice and ice cream, resulting in more rigorous testing, the committee said. Prior to the amendments, inspectors would send an entire serving of a product — ice and edible toppings — to a laboratory. This year, inspectors separated the edible parts for testing, as each is held to different standards, it said. One shop was found to serve ice that contained 3,800 times the amount of acceptable Escherichia coli, the committee said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
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