■ DEFENSE
Ma targets military changes
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that the country will move from compulsory military service toward all-volunteer armed forces in four to six years. After a voluntary enlistment system is in place, the president said, “the military will be further streamlined and a smaller, but stronger military will be established.” Ma made the remarks during an address at a ceremony to mark the 84th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China Military Academy in Fengshan, Kaohsiung County. The president noted that “neutrality of the military has taken root in Taiwan, a sign that the military will be loyal to the country rather than to a specific party or individual.” The president praised the academy, founded in Whampoa, in China’s Guangdong Province, in 1924, for its contributions in conflicts over the past eight decades.
■ POLICE
Top official to take office
The nation’s top police official is scheduled to assume office on Friday, a press statement released by the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞), currently the Taipei City Police Department director-general, will leave his post and take over as director-general of the National Police Agency, overseeing all of Taiwan’s police forces following a personnel reshuffle announced by Minister of the Interior Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) last month. Wang replaces Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who has been appointed as the new president of the Central Police University (CPU), Taiwan’s highest police force training institute, replacing outgoing CPU President Shieh Ing-dan (謝銀黨). Yesterday’s statement said that Shieh has been appointed as a counselor to the Executive Yuan on social security affairs. Shieh will provide counseling to the Cabinet on crime prevention and control, and will participate in cross-strait meetings on crime crackdowns on behalf of the Executive Yuan, the statement said.
■ HEALTH
Healthcare receives boost
Taiwan’s first “digital medical treatment” touring vehicle was launched yesterday to take high-tech health care services to villages and small towns far from large hospitals. The vehicle, which is equipped with a digital X-ray machine, an advanced ultrasound device and pap-smear equipment as well as other state-of-the-art medical equipment, will be used in Taichung County to offer residents better quality health services, Taichung County Commissioner Chuang Chung-sheng (黃仲生) said. Speaking outside the Taichung County Hall, Huang said that because of changes in people’s lifestyles and diets, the prevalence of chronic diseases and cancer have gradually increased in recent years. He said the vehicle would help the health department’s efforts to increase early detection of diseases by providing the county’s residents with more opportunities for medical checkups.
■ TRANSPORT
Retail space up for grabs
Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) is set to begin inviting bids by retailers today to lease space at stations along the MRT’s Orange Line, which is scheduled to begin operations in August. At the Formosa Boulevard Station, which connects the Orange Line to the north-south Red Line, a total of 89 retail outlet spaces will be available for lease, the KRTC said. The 14.3km Orange Line extends east-west across Kaohsiung City and into Kaohsiung County, beginning from Sizihwan Station in the city’s Gushan District (鼓山) and ending at Daliao Station in Kaohsiung County.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
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