■ 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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
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