Wed, Mar 31, 2010 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
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  ■HEALTH

  CDC wants clean hands

  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday called on the public to take personal hygiene seriously and to wash their hands frequently, saying that two cases of severe enterovirus have been reported this year. A six-year-old boy has been released from hospital while a three-year-old boy from Yunlin County was still receiving treatment, CDC deputy director Shih Wen-yih (施文儀) said. The center said that with the peak season for intestinal disease expected in two to three weeks, parents and teachers should ensure that children wash their hands thoroughly with anti-­bacterial soap before meals.

  ■LAWSUITS

  First lady wins case

  The Taiwan High Court yesterday ruled that political commentator Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒) must pay first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) NT$600,000 (US$18,800) in compensation for alleging that she stole newspapers from Harvard University’s Harvard-­Yenching Library when she was a student there. Chin made the allegation during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presidential campaign in 2008. Chow immediately filed a lawsuit against Chin with the Taipei District Court, demanding that he publish an apology in four major newspapers while asking for NT$5 million (US$162,000) in compensation, which she said she would donate to charity. The Taipei District Court said Chin must compensate Chow and post an apology in four major newspapers. The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the district court’s ruling. Chin can appeal with the Supreme Court.

  ■FESTIVALS

  Children’s films in spotlight

  A children’s film festival will be held in Taipei City and feature 130 films from 30 countries, an organizer said yesterday. This year’s Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival (TICFF), a biennial event dedicated to children under the age of 12, will be held at the Vie Show Cinemas Taipei Hsinyi and Eslite Hsinyi bookstore from Thursday through April 11. One of the opening films is Bye-Bye Morakot, a documentary about the life of children affected by the devastating typhoon, which hit Taiwan in August, organizer Wang Chung-wen (王瓊文) said. The festival, organized by Public Television Service since 2004, will also present works directed by Taiwanese children from schools across the country.

  ■FOREIGN AID

  Tzu Chi helps Chileans

  Volunteers from the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟功德會) recently distributed vital supplies, including food and blankets, to the victims of a powerful earthquake that hit Chile late last month, the charity said yesterday. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred off Chile’s western coast on Feb. 27, killing hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands. Estimates put the damage at more than US$30 billion. Seventy-two Tzu Chi volunteers from Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and the US began the two-day relief operation on Saturday in Dichato, one of the ­hardest-hit areas, Tzu Chi said in a news release. The group then travelled to Tumbes and Cobquecura to continue aid distribution, Tzu Chi said. A total of 2,500 earthquake-­affected households received the supplies, which include cooking oil, sugar, salt, flour, noodle, powdered milk and blankets, the organization said, adding that the relief operations helped more than 8,500 people. Tzu Chi’s next distribution program to Chilean quake victims is scheduled for May.
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