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.
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
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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