DIPLOMACY
Czech delegation arrives
Czech Senate Vice President Jiri Drahos yesterday arrived in Taiwan at the head of a 19-member delegation that includes Czech Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Innovation Jana Havlikova. During the six-day trip, the group is to meet with President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), among others, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Both sides would exchange views on issues such as trade, technology, education and culture, and deepen cooperation in areas ranging from key industries, science development and talent cultivation to culture and the arts, the ministry said. Drahos is to host a semiconductor business opportunity forum for his country and witness the signing of a cooperation agreement between the National Palace Museum and the National Museum in Prague, it said. He is also to open an exhibition on Czech castles and chateaus at National Taiwan Museum in Taipei and launch a program aimed at boosting Taiwan-Czech supply chain resilience, it said. The delegation also includes Czech Deputy Minister for Digitalization and Innovation Petr Ocko, National Museum director-general Michal Lukes, other government officials and tech experts.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
HEALTH
Medicine being withdrawn
Recalled traditional Chinese medicine that was distributed to pharmacies in five administrative regions would be off the shelves within the week, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday. The ministry on Saturday announced that 12 products made by Tainan-based Juang Chuen Ren Biotechnology Pharmaceutical Co (莊春仁生物科技製藥) were being recalled and that the firm was suspected of producing counterfeit drugs. The quantities of each of the 12 products ranges from seven bottles to more than 200, Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy Director Shih Hui-chuan (施惠娟) said yesterday. They were distributed to pharmacies in Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Kaohsiung, Keelung and Tainan, she said. People should not ingest the recalled products, and return them as soon as possible, Shih said. The products are Juang Chuen Ren Guey Fuh Dih Huang Wan (桂附地黃丸), Ren Tsan Guh Chyuan pills (人參固泉丸), Lih Daan Bao Gan Wan (利膽保肝丸), Zi Yun Gao (紫雲膏), Hsieh Kang Nen Ching Hsieh Wan (血康能清血丸), Liu Wei Di Huang San (六味地黃散), Chia Wei Huan Shao Wan (加味還少丸), Gardenia powder (梔子散), Scutellaria powder (黃芩散), Jin Suo Gu Jing Wan (金鎖固精丸), Sharen powder (砂仁散) and Ban Long Wan (斑龍丸).
TRAFFIC
Road open after landslide
The intersection between Beining Road and the entrance to Keelung’s Chaojing Park, which was blocked by a landslide on June 3, was reopened at 2pm yesterday, ahead of schedule. The landslide partially buried nine vehicles and a scooter along Beining Road, injuring four people. Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Men-yen (李孟諺) yesterday said that there is a 6m buffer zone along the reopened section of road. As a result, the road is narrower and the speed limit has been set at 25kph, Lee said. There would be personnel on site monitoring the road at all times, he said. A maintenance project to permanently reinforce the slope adjacent to the road would be completed at a later date, he added.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to