■ SOCIETY
New national holiday touted
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said yesterday that Children’s Day on April 4 would be reinstated as a national holiday in 2011, if a related provision was approved by the legislature. He said government agencies reached a consensus on the matter in November after holding several meetings over the previous months. While Taiwan observes Women and Children’s Day on April 4, it is not a national holiday. Jiang said it was decided at the November meeting to separate Women’s Day from Children’s Day because reinstating Women’s Day as a national holiday required more deliberation, given its potential impact on the economy. Children’s Day and Women’s Day were separate national holidays in Taiwan until 1993, when the government combined the two holidays into Women and Children’s Day on April 4. In 1998, when two-day weekends became the norm in Taiwan, the government said Women and Children’s Day would no longer be a national holiday.
■ ANIMALS
Neutering plan starts soon
Starting on Monday, the Kaohsiung City Government will begin accepting applications for subsidies for neutering cats and dogs, a city government official said yesterday. Chu Chia-te (朱家德), director of Kaohsiung Municipal Institute for Animal Health, said the stipend would be earmarked for 1,000 animals, with NT$1,000 per female and NT$500 per male. Only adults who have household registration in the city are entitled to the subsidy, Chu said, adding that each applicant can apply for a maximum of three pets. Animals receiving subsidized neutering will also have to receive a rabies shot and an ID chip, which will also be covered by the government, Chu said.
■ HEALTH
DOH monitors doctor-drain
The Department of Health (DOC) said yesterday it would closely monitor whether medical manpower in Taiwan will be affected by a decision to allow health personnel to practice in China. Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), director-general of the department’s Bureau of Medical Affairs, said qualified Taiwanese pharmacists and nurses will soon be permitted to practice in China without an additional license. The department will have to evaluate whether this measure will have an adverse impact on Taiwan’s supply of such personnel, he said. At present, medical doctors and dentists are allowed to practice in China once they obtain a certificate of good standing issued by the department to prove they have not violated healthcare laws, Shih said. To date, about 100 people have applied for the certificates, he said. Taiwan has 40,000 doctors and 120,000 nurses, while China has 40,000 doctors and 50,000 nurses to serve its population of about 1.3 billion.
■ OBITUARY
Hung Yi-feng dies at 82
Well-known local crooner Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰) passed away yesterday at Taipei Medical University Hospital, aged 82. In December, Hung, who was known for his Taiwanese songs and considered a national treasure, contracted a fever that developed into pneumonia and breathing difficulties. After being sent to hospital, Hung was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With Hung in a coma, his family remained at his side day and night, constantly playing the song Love Always Joyful (愛常常喜樂). Hung wrote the song to the text of a prayer he often read when he was hospitalized two years ago after suffering a bad fall.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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