DIPLOMACY
St Lucia delegation arrives
Saint Lucian Minister of Commerce Emma Hippolyte is leading a delegation on a six-day trip to Taiwan starting yesterday to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Hippolyte’s delegation also includes Saint Lucian Ministry of Commerce Permanent Secretary Sophia Alfay-Henry and Export Saint Lucia chief executive Sunita Daniel, who represents the country’s national trade export and promotion agency, the ministry said. During their stay until Friday, the delegates are to visit the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Digital Affairs and Taiwan External Trade Development Council, among other places. It is the second time Hippolyte has visited Taiwan, it added. Saint Lucia is one of the nation’s four diplomatic allies in the Caribbean, together with Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and one of 12 sovereign states that have diplomatic ties with Taipei.
DISASTER RELIEF
Nation helps Guatemala
The government on Saturday pledged to donate US$300,000 in relief supplies to Guatemala in the wake of the devastation caused by a wildfire on the slopes of the dormant Agua volcano. The Guatemalan government described the situation as urgent and has called for the international community to help with disaster relief efforts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. As a longtime friend and a diplomatic ally of Guatemala, the government immediately made arrangements to donate US$300,000 in supplies to help the Central American nation, it said. Taiwan’s technical mission in Guatemala and several Taiwanese expatriates have already donated 30 safety helmets, six sets of wireless electrical equipment and 1,000 packs of instant noodles to help with the country’s disaster relief efforts, the ministry added.
CRIME
Three arrested in Cambodia
Three Taiwanese found with 16kg of MDMA and its precursors have been arrested in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. It said it received a report of the trio’s arrest from its liaison office in Vietnam. The office said that Cambodian drug enforcement agents arrested the Taiwanese men and seized the MDMA and its precursors as well as a batch of drug packaging tools at a house in Phnom Penh on Thursday. The CIB said it would exchange information with its counterparts in Cambodia to find out the source, intended distribution and whether Taiwan was an intended destination. The three men involved are surnamed Chuang (莊), Wu (吳) and Lin (林), with the former two wanted for fraud in Taiwan. They are to stand trial in Cambodia under local laws and be deported from the country after legal procedures, the CIB said.
CULINARY
Sophomore wins gold
Wang Yu-hsiang (王宥翔), a sophomore at the Department of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management at Hungkuang University in Taichung, has won a gold and bronze medal at the IKA/Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany, held from Feb. 3 to Feb. 7. Wang clinched the gold medal in the individual classic fruit and vegetable carving category and bronze in the live carving category, department dean Wu Sung-lien (吳松濂) said. Hsu Kai-tun (許凱敦), an associate professor at the university, won silver in the culinary art category, Wu added. Wang said his pumpkin carving work featured images of popular deities from Taiwan, including the sea goddess Matsu.
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
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese