DIPLOMACY
Eswatini ties stable: Lin
Diplomatic relations with Eswatini remain “stable,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday in response to reports that the nation’s only African ally is pivoting toward China. Taiwan’s relations with Eswatini are “stable” and “solid,” Lin told reporters at a ceremony in Taipei, dismissing media speculation. Lin said Eswatini’s King Mswati III visited the nation in May to attend President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration, which was followed by the signing of a joint statement reaffirming bilateral ties. In addition, the two countries have developed “wide” and “multifaceted” collaborations over the past 56 years in areas such as medicine, agriculture and communications, Lin said. Lin’s comments came a few days after Semafor Africa cited the Eswatini business community as reporting that the kingdom’s authorities were thawing relations with Beijing, in line with the increasing presence of Chinese businesses in the country.
DEFENSE
Pilot leaves hospital
An air force pilot who ejected to safety from a Mirage 2000 jet that later crashed was discharged from hospital yesterday. Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun (謝沛勳), who is now able to move around on his own, left Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital at 9:40am, accompanied by his family. The contusions and bruises on his neck and waist have greatly improved, but follow-up treatment is still advised, doctors said. Hsieh, who was rescued from the waters off Hsinchu County’s coast on Tuesday night, has been cleared of aspiration pneumonia after an X-ray examination, the hospital said. The incident took place at 8:05pm on Tuesday, when Hsieh’s aircraft lost power over waters off Hsinchu County. Hsieh has logged 795 flight hours, including 509 hours with the Mirage 2000, the air force said.
SOCIETY
Teacher suspended
A preschool teacher in Taichung has been suspended following accusations of student mistreatment, the city government said on Thursday. The teacher at a preschool in Nantun District (南屯) is under investigation for allegedly causing multiple bruises on a child on Sept. 2, government officials said in a news release. The parents of the child filed a complaints with a city councilor and the city’s Education Bureau on Sept. 3. Statements by the parents and surveillance footage appeared to show the teacher pinching the boy’s cheeks and grabbing him by the upper arm to drag him into the classroom, causing bruises on his neck and chest. Although the teacher admitted to her actions, the parents said the preschool was too lenient with the teacher.
FOOD
Peracetic acid use eased
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended a regulation to allow food industry operators the option to use peracetic acid as a cleanser in ready-to-eat fresh produce. The inclusion of peracetic acid in the Sanitation Standard for Food Cleansers comes after referencing international practices and other relevant safety assessments, the FDA said in a news release on Thursday. Peracetic acid, also known as peroxyacetic acid or PAA, is a type of oxidizing agent that is used in numerous applications, including as a chemical disinfectant in healthcare and as a sanitizer to control water quality in aquaculture. Prior to the amendment, sodium chlorite solutions, chlorine dioxide, hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite were the only four industrial chemical agents permitted for use as cleansers in ready-to-eat raw food in the nation, Food Safety Division head Tsai Shu-jean (蔡淑貞) said.
Peracetic acid was originally used for disinfecting containers or packages that come in direct contact with food, but local industry operators requested that its use be expanded, Tsai said. Food cleansers are primarily used in fresh vegetables and fish that can be consumed uncooked, such as salads, sashimi or fruits sold in supermarkets and restaurants, she said. The addition of peracetic acid will give operators a new option for disinfecting raw edible food, as this oxidizing agent typically evaporates without leaving any residue, the FDA said. However, if residue does remain, it must not exceed 1 part per million (ppm), as stipulated in the revised food cleanser regulation that came into effect on Thursday, it said.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its