HEALTH
Dengue cases reach 102
The number of dengue fever cases nationwide reached 102 as of yesterday, after 10 new indigenous cases were confirmed, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Six of the 10 new cases were in Taichung, three in Changhua County and one in Kaohsiung, the CDC said, adding that the youngest patient is a teenager and the oldest a septuagenarian. Taichung has been hardest hit by the mosquito-borne disease this year, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, attributing the situation to people not reporting their conditions to health authorities in a timely manner. The first dengue fever case in the city this year was traced back to Aug. 3, but city public health officials received no report until Aug. 20, he said.
AVIATION
Taoyuan-HK busiest route
The flight route between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport last year recorded the highest number of passengers among international air routes worldwide, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. The route carried 5.4 million passengers, up 1.8 percent from 2016, the IATA said in its yearly industry performance report last week. It was followed by Jakarta-Singapore (3.3 million) and Bangkok-Hong Kong (3.1 million). The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route (2.8 million) and the Hong Kong-Seoul route (2.7 million) rounded out the top five, the report said. Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region last year carried the highest number of passengers at 1.5 billion, a 36.3 percent market share and an increase of 10.6 percent from 2016, it said.
TECHNOLOGY
Space tech earns praise
Taiwanese satellites and spacecraft components have proved popular at the Bengaluru Space Expo in India, with several foreign experts expressing an interest in working with Taiwan, a top official said on Saturday. Taiwan demonstrated its strength in space technology at the show, said Henry Chen (陳和賢), director of the Science and Technology Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India. Taiwan’s locally developed miniature satellites received high praise, while a number of Indian academics and industry experts have begun exploring opportunities to cooperate with Taiwan, Chen said. The biennial space expo, the largest of its kind in Asia, was held from Thursday to Saturday, with more than 100 exhibitors, space agency representatives and delegates from Taiwan, the US, France, Russia and other countries taking part.
EDUCATION
Salvadorean student stays
A Salvadorean student has decided to continue studying in Taiwan, despite the two nations severing diplomatic ties last month. Three Salvadorean students had planned to enroll at Tainan-based National Cheng Kung University this semester, but following the severing of ties between the two nations on Aug. 21, two of them withdrew from their programs. However, Janeth Ramirez said she wanted to keep studying at the university’s department of chemistry, the school said. When asked why she wanted to continue studying in Taiwan, Ramirez said she has become accustomed to the lifestyle in Taiwan and found Taiwanese very approachable and friendly. The Salvadorean government has agreed to pay her food, accommodation and other living expenses until she completes her program, so she only needs to cover her tuition fees, Ramirez said.
‘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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