HEALTHCARE
Pilgrims sickened
At least 70 worshipers out of thousands participating in a pilgrimage of the sea goddess Matsu in Pingtung County were taken to hospitals on Saturday, possibly due to food poisoning, local health authorities said. The county’s Public Health Bureau said it received a report at 4:42pm that many pilgrims taking part in the event, lasting from Friday through yesterday in southern Taiwan, had fallen ill. As of 8:30pm, 29 people remained hospitalized at Fooyin University Hospital and Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital, while the rest were discharged after being treated, the bureau said. It added that it has started on-site investigations to see if there have been contraventions of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法). A Matsu devotee surnamed Chen (陳) said he started vomiting and had diarrhea after eating food at a local temple in the afternoon. He said he later went to a hospital and learned that many others had developed similar symptoms.
HEALTHCARE
FDA warns on eyedrops
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised the public not to buy eye drops or artificial tears from unknown sources in other countries or online. FDA Deputy Director-General Cheng Hwei-fang (陳惠芳) said the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in February warned “consumers and healthcare practitioners not to purchase and to immediately stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears due to potential bacterial contamination,” during the manufacturing and packing process in India. Using contaminated artificial tears increases the risk of eye infections that could result in blindness or death, the USFDA said. The USFDA issued recalls between late October and the middle of last month for 28 types of artificial tears and eye drops by seven brands — CVS Health, Leader, Rugby, Rite Aid, Target, Velocity Pharma LLC and Walmart — none of which have been authorized for import, sale or use in Taiwan, Chen said. He urged the public not to buy the products in other countries or online. The US authorities are planning to recall all unexpired products from the brands made from last month until September 2025, he said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Big Kaohsiung show planned
The Kaohsiung City Government has announced that its annual New Year’s Eve celebration is to feature a fireworks show lasting four minutes, one of the city’s biggest-ever displays. The New Year’s Eve party is to take place at Dream Mall starting from 6:30pm on Dec. 31, with the stepped-up firework display beginning after the New Year countdown, it said, adding that the show is to last 60 seconds longer than last year and more than 7,000 fireworks are to be set off. This would also be the first time the city combines its Christmas and New Year celebrations in an attempt to create a joyful end-of-the-year atmosphere, it said. Christmas decorations, including a 20m-tall Christmas tree and a more than 5m-tall reindeer, are to be put up in the city’s Central Park. An event is also to be held there on Dec. 22 and 23, featuring more than 250 stalls and performances, it said. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said Kaohsiung is set to have an eventful December, with the “Open Your Dream” balloon parade being held on Saturday, and the “Open Run” road running race and the performance of the “Orange Devils” — Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School’s marching band — scheduled for Sunday.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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