Exposure to viruses at early stages helps people build up immunity before they become unbeatable

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/06
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – For those concerned that ever more convenient global travel could facilitate the spread of deadly diseases, a new study suggests otherwise – plane travel may serve as “natural inoculation” for human beings.

Superbugs and killer viruses transported across the globe may help strengthen humans’ immune systems, researchers from the University of Oxford believe. The theory is based on the assumption that diseases may not have sufficient time to mutate into nasty strains as people have already developed some level of immunity against them, reported Daily Mail.

According to the study, illnesses that lead to pandemics tend to evolve from weaker strains, like that of swine flu in 2009. The earlier the viruses are spread around, the less likely for humans to suffer outbreaks of viral pandemics, said Dr. Robin Thompson, one of the researchers of the study, which was published on BioRxiv.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/06
By: Liu Te-chang and Ko Lin

Bangkok, Nov. 6 (CNA) The Thai government on Tuesday approved a plan to waive visa-

on-arrival fees for visitors from 21 countries, including Taiwan, for stays of up to 15 days.

According to Thailand’s Immigration Bureau, the initiative is aimed at attracting more foreign visitors to the country and increasing tourism revenue, following a decline in the number of arrivals from China this year.

With effect from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31, the visa-on-arrival fee of 2,000 baht (US$60.67) will be waived for travelers from 21 countries, for visits of no more than 15 days.

Apart from Taiwan, the countries listed are Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
[FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 07, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Executive Yuan yesterday urged domestic and foreign bodies to respect the will of

Taiwanese regardless of the results of a referendum calling for a change to the national sports team’s name from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka made the remarks at a media briefing in Taipei, following Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) president Lin Hong-dow’s (林鴻道) comment on Monday that the referendum could cause the national sports team’s membership to be suspended or revoked by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its executive board meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 30.

“Taiwan is a democratic country where it is the right of the people to vote in referendums, which are an expression of public opinion,” Kolas said.

The government’s role is to accept and hold referendums on proposals that have passed legal thresholds, she said, adding that the Executive Yuan’s position has always been that regardless of the referendum results, they should be respected by all parties, at home or overseas.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 05 November, 2018
By: Jake Chen

Taiwan’s National Police Agency is working with a local Taipei hospital to prevent child abuse… the program includes a new handbook, instructional video, and measures that will better prepare the police to handle cases of abuse.

Paramedics rush an unconscious child into the emergency room. They move the injured boy with extreme care. Moments later, police officers arrive at the hospital. They work with doctors to find out the possible cause of injury, based on CT scan results.

This is just a simulation… it’s footage from a new instructional video created by the police in conjunction with Taipei Chang Geng Memorial Hospital. The two organisations held a press conference on Friday to unveil the film, along with a new handbook, and protocols for dealing with child abuse.

National Police Administration Director-General Chen Ja-Chin says that police officers and medical professionals are at the center of the safety net that protects children from abuse. He said that in the future, the police are looking to set up dedicated stations in communities and hospitals throughout Taiwan. Those stations will enable police officers to work more closely with doctors and other members of the community in order to quickly deal with cases of child abuse.    [FULL  STORY]

Activists coalesced outside the American Institute in Taiwan to raise awareness and call for the freedom of the Wikileaks founder.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/05
By: Jules Quartly

In 10 years’ time, Julian Assange could be Australia’s prime minister or a Nobel Peace Prize winner. But now, he is the guest who has outstayed his welcome at the Ecuadorian embassy in London’s Knightsbridge.

That’s the opinion of Canadian Curtis Smith, who, along with activists and leaders from the “third force” Trees Party (樹黨), held a protest against the United States government’s “persecution” of the Wikileaks leader on Sunday, Nov. 4.

Held opposite the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Taipei’s Xinyi Road, about 60 people turned up, at least half of them security officers or media. “Journalism is not a crime!” was the call to action. The Taipei protest was part of a coordinated worldwide campaign run by Classconscious.org, an unashamedly socialist organization.

“It’s an insane and crazy world where a hero like Julian Assange is held for six years while monsters like Tony Blair, Bush and Cheney walk free,” said Smith, before leading a chant with veteran human rights activist Linda Gail Arrigo (艾琳達): “Free Julian Assange… free Assange, free press… stop persecuting Wikileaks!”    [FULL  STORY]

New Taipei man faces charges for selling live crabs and crayfish from a claw machine

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man is facing charges after being caught selling live crabs and crayfish in a claw machine in New Taipei City, reported UDN.

A 45-year-old man surnamed Feng (馮) is facing charges after police discovered that he was selling live Chinese mitten crabs and Australian red claw crayfish inside a claw machine in a neighborhood of New Taipei City. After receiving complaints that live crustaceans were being sold in a claw machine, police found over a dozen crayfish and three crabs inside the device on Liancheng Road in New Taipei City’s Zhonghe District.

According to an initial investigation, Feng allegedly purchased crayfish from his friend at NT$200 (US$6.5) to NT$450 (US$14.6) per jin (half a kilogram), and at the end of October, he began renting a claw machine in the claw game arcade for NT$5,000 per month. Because autumn is the season for Chinese mitten crabs, he attracted a lot of customers.

However, some customers immediately felt that it was cruel to pluck living creatures with a claw crane. The Yuanshan District Police Department was soon notified and officers dispatched to the scene found crayfish and crabs inside a machine set up by Feng.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/05
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Ko Lin

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) A draft amendment to the Statute for Prevention and Control of

Infectious Animal Disease that imposes tougher fines on people caught smuggling meat products into the country has been approved by the Executive Yuan, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) said Monday.

In the wake of an increase in the number of travelers illegally bringing meat products from overseas into Taiwan, the maximum fine is to be raised from NT$15,000 (US$488) to NT$300,000, according to BAPHIQ.

Hopefully, this will have a greater deterrent effect on people, the bureau explained.

The proposed amendment came amid growing concern over outbreaks of highly contagious African swine fever (ASF), which is deadly to pigs.    [FULL  STORY]

Sputnik News
Date: 03.11.2018

US military officials are urging their Taiwanese counterparts to buy more US weapons in order to modernize their military, stressing that its present capabilities can’t guarantee its safety in the event of an invasion by China. The statement comes days before Taiwan will hold controversial live-fire exercises in the South China Sea.

David Helvey, a senior Pentagon official for Asian and Pacific security affairs, advised that officials from the self-ruling island “must have resources to modernize its military and provide the critical materiel, manning and training needed to deter, or if necessary defeat, a cross-strait invasion,” at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday.    [FULL  STORY]