Mon, Aug 28, 2023 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  HEALTH

  Chlorine leak sickens 13

  Four adults and nine children were hospitalized following a chlorine leak at a hotel swimming pool in Taitung County’s Jhihben (知本) yesterday, local authorities said. The Taitung Fire Department said it received a call from an employee at the hotel at about 9am, reporting that an unidentified greenish gas around the swimming pool had appeared to have made several guests ill. Paramedics found 13 guests who had symptoms including nausea, coughing and vomiting, and sent them to two hospitals in the area. All of those who reported feeling unwell were conscious and, other than coughing, were not experiencing any major respiratory problems, the department said. After inspecting the site, firefighters determined there had been an accidental discharge of the chlorine-based compound sodium hypochlorite, or bleach, resulting in an overly high concentration in the pool. Although it was not clear how exactly the gas cloud formed, sodium hydrochloride can form a gas when it comes into contact with certain chemicals, especially acidic ones. The hotel has apologized and offered to pay the medical expenses of those involved.

  TRAVEL

  MAC issues China warning

  The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has published a list of current affairs topics that it said visitors to China should refrain from discussing to avoid being detained. In the wake of fresh reports of Chinese authorities treating Taiwanese in an “unfriendly” manner, travelers should avoid talking about certain issues when in the country, MAC spokesperson Chan Chih-hung (詹志宏) said on Thursday. Examples of what not to discuss include Chinese government policy and politicians’ backgrounds, which might be regarded as spying under Beijing’s expansive counter-espionage law that was introduced last month, he said. Other topics to avoid include China’s COVID-19 death toll, unemployment among young people, bond trading, foreign exchange reserves and land acquisition by property developers in China, he said. Those invited to China should ask the responsible party to guarantee their personal safety and freedom from unjustifiable detention when clearing immigration, he said. Visitors should also check before departing to China if their phones or laptops contain content that might raise suspicion among the authorities, he said.

  CRIME

  Crematorium staff charged

  Twenty-one New Taipei City Crematorium workers and contractors were on Wednesday charged with accepting bribes as public officials under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). New Taipei City prosecutors said the suspects had made NT$30.53 million (US$958,556) from bribes to arrange and provide additional cremation services. From February 2020, some funeral service agents had been placing NT$500 to NT$2,000 in cremation documents, or paying a monthly fee for the suspects to provide better services, including cremating the bodies at more auspicious times according to the lunar calendar, or helping to remove impurities from the cremated ashes, prosecutors said. The 21 suspects admitted their crimes during the investigation and returned about NT$20 million to the government, the prosecutors said. The city government’s mortuary management office said that four of the suspects have retired or left their jobs, nine contractors were dismissed after being charged and eight casual workers would be dealt with under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
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