HEALTH
Vaccine compensations
A woman has received NT$400,000 (US$12,742) in compensation after she developed peripheral nerve disorders following a COVID- 19 vaccine shot, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) said. The VICP held a meeting on June 29 to discuss cases of reported health problems from vaccines and whether the patients should be compensated. The meeting discussed 170 cases, with 13 cases eligible for compensation ranging from NT$5,000 to NT$400,000. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director General Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) said on Friday the highest compensation of NT$400,000 was given to a Kaohsiung woman in her 40s. The woman felt weakness in her limbs after receiving an AstraZeneca shot and was later diagnosed with polyneuropathy, Tseng said.
BUSINESS
Union condemns layoffs
The Taoyuan Confederation of Trade Unions on Friday condemned a decision by Chemours, a Taoyuan-based US chemical company, to close its plant in Guanyin District (觀音) on Tuesday and lay off over 250 employees. In a Facebook post, the trade union expressed its frustration that the announcement of the plant closure was made public just four days before it takes effect. The condemnation came after the Taoyuan City Government’s Department of Labor released a statement earlier on Friday confirming it had received a proposal from Chemours regarding the closure of its Guanyin factory and laying off 259 workers from Sept. 30.
CINEMA
Love in Taipei to premiere
Love in Taipei, a coming-of-age film based on the best-selling novel Loveboat, Taipei, is to premiere on a subscription-based streaming platform in the US and Canada in August. Directed by Taiwanese-American Arvin Chen (陳駿霖), the movie stars Ashley Liao (廖艾莉), Ross Butler and Taiwan-based TV personality Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬). A 142-second trailer released online by Paramount+ earlier this week shows several of the city’s landmarks including the Taipei 101 building, the Grand Hotel and bustling night markets. The film is to premiere on Aug. 10 exclusively on Paramount+ in the US and Canada, on Aug. 11 in the UK and Australia, and on Aug. 25 in Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France. The premiere dates for South Korea and additional territories are to be announced later, the streaming service said.
CRIME
Arrests over deer theft
Two men were arrested yesterday for stealing three Formosan sika deer in Pingtung County in the early hours of Thursday morning and killing one of them, the county’s police bureau said. Another man who is believed to have bought two of the animals was also arrested, it added. The arrested duo, surnamed Pan (潘) and Chen (陳), confessed to the police that they stole a buck and two fawns from a privately run animal park called “Paradise of Deer,” the police said. The two men told the police that they could not load the buck onto their truck, so they tied its legs tightly and left it outside the park on a stormy night, the police said. Park personnel found the tied-up buck, which had broken two of its legs, on Thursday morning. The adult deer is still undergoing emergency care, the park said. The suspects face charges under the Criminal Code and Animal Protection Act (動物保護法).
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition