IMPORTS
Beef import rules eased
Taiwan has officially opened its market to imports of all Japanese beef products, regardless of the age of the cattle, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday. Previously, Taiwan only permitted imports of Japanese beef from cattle under 30 months old. The policy change followed a 60-day public comment period that began on March 4, after the FDA proposed revising the restrictions, which were promulgated in 2003 during a global outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease. Since 2017, Taiwan has relaxed its beef import rules for the US, Canada and Japan. It allowed beef from cattle of all ages from the US in 2021 and from Canada in 2023. FDA Director-General Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) said that Japan has not reported a case of mad cow disease in more than 15 years.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
TRAFFIC
License-less driver crashes
A car driven by a person without a license crashed into a bus and three other vehicles in Taipei yesterday, injuring the driver and seven others, police said. The incident happened on the southbound-only section of Sec. 1, Chongqing S Road near Xiangyang Road, two blocks away from the Presidential Office. Dash cam footage from a trailing vehicle showed a black car speeding through a red light at the Wuchang Street intersection and into vehicles that were stopped ahead of Xiangyang Road at about 2:19pm. The front of the black car was smashed. The driver, a 78-year-old man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken to hospital along with seven others. Chiu initially tested negative for alcohol, but further tests were to be conducted to confirm the result, police said.
CONSTRUCTION
Collapse kills two
Two workers were killed and two were injured when scaffolding collapsed at a construction site yesterday, Taichung Fire Bureau officials said. The bureau received a report of the incident at the site in South District (南區) at 9:04am, it said. Two workers on the scaffolding, about 10 stories high, were believed to have fallen and showed no signs of life, it said. They were taken to a hospital, but efforts to resuscitate them failed and they were pronounced dead, the bureau said. The two injured workers were hit by falling scaffolding, Taichung police said. The Taichung Labor Affairs Bureau ordered the construction site to suspend operations. If an investigation finds contraventions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the construction company would face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$300,000, the labor bureau said.
CULTURE
Manga exhibition to open
An exhibition tracing the roots of Japan’s manga culture and Taiwan’s comic book scene is to open today in Kyoto, Japan. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth,” organized by the Preparatory Office of the National Taiwan Museum of Comics and the Kyoto International Manga Museum, with support from the Ministry of Culture, runs through June 24 at the Kyoto museum. The exhibition delves into modern history to examine the similarities and differences between Taiwanese and Japanese comics from historical and political contexts, the organizers said. The exhibition would move to the National Taiwan Museum of Comics in Taichung from July, the Kyoto International Manga Museum said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS