POLITICS
Tsai makes Swiss list
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been listed as one of five “women we will talk about in 2023” by Swiss media. The article published on Tuesday by 24 Heures and La Tribune de Geneve described Tsai as a “president who dares to confront Beijing.” Tsai did not hesitate to link Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Taiwan’s situation and reiterate that there is no room for compromise when defending democracy, the article said, adding that her words would be of great importance as next year’s presidential election approaches. It also noted her achievements as Taiwan’s first female president and in overseeing the legalization of marriage equality in 2019. The other women named were Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, US Vice President Kamala Harris and British Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.
CRIME
Man nabbed over fake bills
A courier in Changhua County was on Wednesday arrested after 207 counterfeit banknotes of varying amounts were allegedly seized from his vehicle and home a day earlier, local police said yesterday. Two NT$1,000, five NT$500 and 200 NT$100 fake bills were discovered at the residence of the man, surnamed Lai (賴), in Dacun Township (大村) by police, who acted on a tip-off received on Tuesday. Lai told police that he spent NT$4,698 to buy 660 counterfeit banknotes online in November and that he had been giving customers the notes as change over the past three months. Police estimated that as of Wednesday, Lai might have racked up about NT$40,000 in illegal gains. At least four people had been known to have received fake bills, they said.
HEALTH
COVID-19 cases down 20%
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 18,414 COVID-19 infections, including 390 imported cases, and 48 deaths. The number of cases dropped 20.4 percent from the same day a week earlier, it said. The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but six had underlying health issues, while 27 of them were not vaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said. New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases with 3,775, followed by Kaohsiung with 2,164 and Taichung with 2,145. Taoyuan reported 1,989 new cases, Taipei 1,917, Tainan 1,518, Changhua County 731, Hsinchu County 576, Hsinchu City 486, Miaoli County 426, Yunlin County 358, Keelung 354, Pingtung County 342 and Yilan County 245. Chiayi County had 231 cases, Hualien County 208, Nantou County 205, Chiayi City 139, Taitung County 96, Kinmen County 72, Penghu County 33 and Lienchiang County 14, the CECC said.
FOOD
Instant noodles seized
A shipment of instant noodles from South Korea was seized at the border, after being found to contain residue of a banned disinfectant, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. A total of 1,128kg of Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles with tofu and kimchi imported by Shing Her International was confiscated after sample testing on Dec. 9 detected 0.075mg/kg of ethylene oxide in the product’s seasoning sachets, the FDA said. Ethylene oxide, a widely used industrial product, is banned in foods in Taiwan, as it is classified as a first-class carcinogen. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer and cause central nervous or peripheral neuropathy, it said. The Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles would either be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, it added.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
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