FOOD
Singapore drops requirement
Starting on March 1, exporters of certain beverage and food items will no longer be required by Singapore to provide official documentation that their products are plasticizer-free, the Department of Health said yesterday. Following a similar decision by China on Jan. 5, Singapore will exempt Taiwanese firms from providing certification for five categories of exports — sports drinks, juice, tea drinks, fruit jams or syrups, and tablets or powders — the Food and Drug Administration said. Singapore and China were among the few countries in the region, including Hong Kong and South Korea, that required Taiwanese firms to provide plasticizer-free certification in the five categories after it was reported in May last year that some locally produced items contained industrial plasticizers.
TOURISM
Souvenir show scheduled
The country’s first-ever souvenir show is scheduled to begin in late April in an attempt to boost tourism and tourism-related industries, the event’s organizers said yesterday. The four-day show will feature numerous gifts and food items that are manufactured or produced locally, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council said in a statement. The council said it hoped the show would help local souvenir makers expand to the international market, especially in places where Mandarin is widely spoken. The show, in collaboration with local governments, has interest from attracted more than 150 local exhibitors, who would occupy almost 300 booths. In addition to displays featuring a wide array of food products and stationery items, one-on-one procurement meetings will also be held on-site, the council said. The show will help the country’s tourism industry to help drive the economy with some added value, the organizers said, adding that souvenirs are items that tourists typically enjoy to take home to remember their lovely memories. The show will run between April 19 and April 22 at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1, the council said.
DIPLOMACY
Liao appointed AEAR head
Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) assumed the position of chairman of the Association of East Asian Relations (AEAR) yesterday and vowed to do his best to improve Taiwan-Japan relations. Liao, who most recently served as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general, said he would commit himself to the position and hold consultations in a wide range of fields to reinforce the relationship between the two countries. He also praised the contributions made by his predecessor, Peng Run-tsu (彭榮次). The AEAR has handled Taipei’s relations with Tokyo since formal diplomatic ties were severed more than 30 years ago.
ELECTION
Clean by-election urged
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called for a clean election in today’s by-election for the township chief of Huatan (花壇) in Changhua County — the third election of its kind in two years. DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) urged judicial officials to keep an eye out for vote-buying in the region, which was why results of the previous two Huatan Township elections had been nullified. “Inactive investigation would be an encouragement of vote buying and detrimental to Taiwan’s democracy,” Lin told a press conference, adding that the party is confident of victory if the election is conducted fairly.
HEALTH
Flu-related deaths reported
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced yesterday that there had been five new confirmed influenza-related deaths in recent days. The victims were all aged over 60, with the oldest being an 89-year-old woman residing in the south of the country, according to the CDC report. None of the patients, who all suffered from chronic diseases, had received flu vaccinations, the CDC said. According to the CDC’s data, the number of patients rushed to hospitals after showing flu-like symptoms reached about 1,700 on Thursday, down from 2,200 on the same day the previous week. Since July last year, the number of confirmed cases of flu has increased to 1,023, 59 of which were fatal, CDC statistics show.
SOCIETY
Alleged swindler in custody
A man was taken into custody for allegedly swindling millions of New Taiwan dollars by selling Sesame Street dolls and other items which he said had “magic powers,” police said yesterday. The suspect, identified by his surname, Lin (林), was accused of conning about NT$3 million (US$101,000) from a businessman with products including an Elmo doll, a Sesame Street muppet, which he reportedly said was “holy” and could bring luck, the police said. The businessman, who said Lin also asked him to “buy property in the underworld,” later contacted the police after he realized he had been scammed. Lin was also suspected of selling the dolls to other people for up to NT$1 million apiece, as well as touting a variety of products for their alleged healing effects. Police said they would continue to investigate Lin, a temple keeper in Taoyuan County, after they found documents with information on a large number of “followers” from the past several years at his home and at the temple.
SOCIETY
Legislators praise noodles
An award-winning chef on Thursday served members of the California State Legislature in Sacramento with his signature beef noodles and received high praise from the diners. Moreover, the legislature issued a citation in recognition of the work by Hou Chun-sheng (侯圳生), winner of the spicy braised beef noodles category at least year’s Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival, to promote exchanges between California and Taiwan through the famous Taiwanese dish. The citation said that Taiwan maintains close relations with California and is the state’s sixth-largest trade partner. According to Jack Chiang (江國強), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, Hou is the first Taiwanese chef to be cited by the California State Legislature. Such “food diplomacy” allows the country to demonstrate its soft power and helps strengthen trade ties between Taiwan and the US, Chiang said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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