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.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by