Sun, May 14, 2023 page3

• Taiwan news quick take

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  HEALTH

  Boosters available for kids

  From Tuesday, children aged six months to five years who have already received two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine would be eligible for a second-generation Moderna jab as a booster, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Friday. However, the updated Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 cannot be administered as a third shot for children aged six months to four years if their previous two doses were Pfizer-BioNTech jabs, it said. The standard Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination regime for children comprises three shots, while Moderna’s is two, so children must receive Pfizer-BioNTech as their third shot, the CDC said. However, five-year-olds can receive either as their booster, it said. The updated Moderna dose should be administered at least three months after the previous shot, it said, adding that about 134,000 children are eligible for shots.

  POLITICS

  Cabinet spokesman named

  Alan Lin (林子倫), deputy executive director of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction, was named Cabinet spokesman on Friday. The Cabinet in a statement described Lin, who teaches political science at National Taiwan University, as a public policy expert, saying that he has been assisting the government in planning its energy and environmental policies. He also led a delegation last year that participated in discussions at the COP27 summit in Egypt, it said. Lin’s predecessor, Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), tendered his resignation in February following allegations that he offered favors for sex during his time as a civil servant in Tainan more than a decade ago. Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) has been acting Cabinet spokesman since then.

  DIPLOMACY

  Envoy shares vision

  Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said his main objective would be to continue to advance the ties that were cemented by his predecessor, Francis Liang (梁國新). Tung, who arrived in the Southeast Asian city-state on Monday, said that Taiwan and Singapore have a longstanding friendship built on extensive collaboration and exchanges, including several memorandums of understanding and trade agreements. He said he is especially hoping to improve ties in the tourism and the high-tech sectors. Tung previously served as Overseas Community Affairs Council minister.

  CULTURE

  Exhibition opens in Taipei

  French conceptual artist Laurent Grasso’s first solo exhibition in Taiwan opened in Taipei on Wednesday, showcasing several of his pieces in a variety of media. The Paris-based artist said the exhibition, titled “Time Leaves,” reflects his constant exploration of the idea of “time” and “traveling through times.” The exhibition, which runs until July 15 at Tao Art in Neihu District (內湖), brings together several works created by the Marcel Duchamp Prize winner, including the film OttO made for the 2018 Biennale of Sydney. The 21-minute film explores the “sacred sites” of indigenous people in Australia’s Northern Territory, showing Grasso’s interest in traditional beliefs and myths, and his embrace of technology. Also on display is another series of paintings of “strangely shaped” flowers, the gallery said. Titled “Future Herbarium,” the paintings were inspired by flowers that mutated after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011, the gallery said.
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