FOOD SAFETY
FDA to investigate candy
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate “wax candy” products from China that have appeared for sale on Taiwanese shopping sites, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said on Tuesday. The sellers might have contravened the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) as well as the Regulations Governing Trade Between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區貿易許可辦法) if they did not obtain a permit to import the products, Lin said. Information on the e-commerce sites shows that the candies have an outer layer of wax encasing jam or syrup, she said. However, the contents are likely to be processed foods, made with artificial flavors and coloring, she said, adding that the candies raise food safety concerns. People should exercise caution before buying the products because it is uncertain whether they contain illegal additives, she said. People can report suspicious products to their local health bureaus, she added.
Screen grab from Taobao
TRAVEL
Tigerair adds Miyazaki route
Tigerair Taiwan is adding a new route between Taoyuan and Miyazaki, Japan, starting from Nov. 26, the budget carrier said yesterday. The city of about 400,000 on the southern island of Kyushu would be the airline’s 20th destination in Japan, as Tigerair prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its first flight. Miyazaki is a historic city “full of myth,” with shrines including Miyazaki Shrine, Amanoiwato Shrine and Takachiho Shrine, the carrier said. The city also has attractions such as Takachiho Gorge and Sun Messe Nichinan, a park renowned for its seven Moai statues restored with permission from Easter Island, the Taoyuan-based airline said. The carrier would initially offer one weekly round-trip flight for the new route, departing from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:30am on Tuesdays, with return flight leaving Miyazaki at 10:10am the same day. To celebrate the new route, the airline said it would also sell one-way tickets from 10am on Thursday to 11:59pm on Friday. Tigerair reported its highest-ever consolidated sales of NT$1.53 billion (US$16.64 million) for last month, up NT$292 million from a year earlier. The number of flights it offered last month rose 20 percent amid a global tourism boom in the post-COVID-19-pandemic era, while the number of flights increased 40 percent in the first eight months of this year compared with the previous year.
TRANSPORTATION
EV charging stations opened
The Freeway Bureau on Tuesday last week announced the completion of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) at all freeway service areas. That includes 23 fast-charging stations, 85 charging piles and 154 EV parking spaces in 15 service areas and the Eastern Caotun Rest Area. The nationwide charging network was established to meet demand for charging infrastructure amid the rapid growth of EVs, the bureau said in a news release. The facilities were completed in three phases over several years. The 23 fast-charging stations, with a total capacity of more than 27 megawatts, are along highways Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6, covering the northern, central, southern and eastern parts of Taiwan proper, it said. All the stations are equipped with fast-charging piles with a capacity of 200 kilowatts (kW) or more, with 70 percent offering 350kW to 360kW, enabling quick charging during short rest stops. Drivers can check real-time charging pile availability on the bureau’s Freeway 1968 app.
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
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 —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
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