A 1.5 km 'mini-marathon' led to multiple injuries after runners piled into each other following disorderly start

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/25
By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The "First Incense" event of the Lunar New Year in Changhua County on Friday (Jan. 25) was a mini-marathon-style activity that ended in a number of injuries — though none serious.

Starting the race in front of Nanyao Temple, runners fell or were pushed to the ground in a chaotic start. Changhua Mayor Lin Shi-xian (林世賢) later apologized to those taking part for the breakdown in organization, according to a CNA report.

Nanyao Temple has previously hosted ‘First Incense’ events and the county council typically wraps incense burners in blankets in case they fall, in order to prevent injuries. This year the idea was to hold a 1.5 kilometer race.

More than 400 men and 200 women registered for the event, some dressing up as the "God of Wealth." At 10:30 pm, the men’s group took off but the narrowness of the scooter-lined route and competitive nature of the runners led to a pileup soon after the starting whistle.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/25/2020
By: Su Mu-chun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) Lawmaker Chiang Chi-chen (江啟臣) became the fourth person to announce his bid to run for chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) when he confirmed his candidacy Saturday.

At his service office in Taichung, Chiang urged everyone who cares for the KMT, no matter how old they are, to "shoulder the responsibility we should take on," and he asked for a united effort to change the party for the better.

Chiang, 47, was re-elected to the Legislature in Taiwan's Jan. 11 elections, in which the KMT suffered big defeats in both the presidential and legislative races.

KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) lost by nearly 20 percentage points to incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and the party won only 38 of the 113 legislative seats while Tsai's party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), garnered 61 seats.    [FULL  STORY]

SEEING RED: The synthetic dyes used in red envelopes and spring couplets could cause allergic reactions or release volatile organic compounds, a doctor said

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 26, 2020
By: Chiu Shu-yu and Dennis Xie  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Materials used to make hongbao (紅包, a red envelope containing money) and chunlian (春聯, a

spring couplet) might contain toxic chemicals, so people should wash their hands thoroughly to ensure that no residues remain, a doctor said.

It is a popular tradition in Taiwan to hand out hongbao and decorate homes with spring couplets as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

However, the synthetic dyes used to make red envelopes and spring couplets could cause allergic reactions in children, as well as release volatile organic compounds that contain formaldehyde, a carcinogen, En Chu Kong Hospital Nephrology Division director Lin Chien-yu (林建宇) said, adding that the gilding on red envelopes could contain heavy metals.

Chemical compounds that disrupt hormonal activity are known as environmental hormones, with 70 to 80 different types currently known in the medical field, such as plasticizers, bisphenol A and dioxins, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio  Taiwan International
Date: 24 January, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Inspectors are continuing to work through the Lunar New Year holiday to keep African swine fever out of Taiwan.

Inspectors are stepping up work to keep Taiwan free of African swine fever over the Lunar New Year holiday.

African swine fever does not affect humans, but it is fatal to pigs. Taiwan has so far managed to keep the disease out, even as it has spread through nearby Asian countries. However, there are still concerns that the virus responsible for the disease could reach Taiwan, with devastating effects on its sizable pork industry.

In 2019, the Environmental Protection Administration drew up a plan to inspect pig farms that use kitchen waste as feed. The plan is designed to get farms to steam kitchen waste at high temperatures, thus cutting the risk that the resulting slop could spread infectious diseases among pigs. Inspectors paid over 6000 visits to pig farms last year, enforcing rules about kitchen waste treatment. They found a total of 253 infractions.    [FULL  STORY]

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
Date: 24th January 2020

The re-election of Taiwan’s incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen is a boost to the island nation’s democratic identity, and significantly complicates China’s Taiwan policy, writes Meia Nouwens.

President Tsai's election victory will not have come as a surprise to anyone watching the lead up to the vote. A total of 8 million Taiwanese cast their ballots for Tsai, delivering her 57% of the vote. Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang Party (KMT), meanwhile, trailed her with just 38.6%.

Tsai’s campaign was aided by both internal and external factors. Internally, the lack of a credible opposition helped keep Tsai’s party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in power during the first four difficult years of her presidency. Although the KMT regained some power in 2018 through local election victories and enjoyed renewed momentum with the rise of a populist presidential candidate in Han Kuo-yu, the KMT’s messages did not resonate with younger voters. It failed to reform after its 2016 loss in order to address this, a point echoed by KMT vice-chairman Hau Lung-bin, who stepped down on after the election, along with KMT chairman Wu Den-yih and other top leaders. Hau questioned ‘what path can our party take now? Besides destroying everything and rebuilding what other path do we have? This is the only choice for us to hope to emerge from the ruins!’

Alongside the KMT’s internal problems, the DPP pursued policies to strengthen economic growth. Year-on-year real GDP rose to 2.4% in 2019 Q2. Despite potentially slower export growth due to international trade conflicts and weaker global demand for mobile devices, Taiwan’s outlook for 2020 remains positive. In particular, the continued investment of semiconductor manufacturing and reshoring of Taiwanese companies is likely to support export growth in the year ahead, with GDP growth forecast to rise to around 2.7% by Taiwan’s Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. Tsai has vowed to maintain this momentum as part of her election victory.
[FULL  STORY]

President Tsai thanks those who remain on duty during the holiday

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/24
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made a Lunar New Year’s speech on Thursday (Jan. 23) in which she referred to the presidential election held on the island two weeks ago as proof that the Taiwanese people value democracy.

In a pre-recorded video, Tsai first expressed her gratitude to those who remain on duty during the New Year holiday.

“I want to give a special thank you to all the military service members, police, firefighters, drivers, ship captains, pilots, airport employees, and healthcare personnel who remain at their posts,” said Tsai. “We owe the convenience and safety of our New Year vacation to them.”

In addition to greeting Taiwanese nationals and ethnic Chinese throughout the world, Tsai specifically mentioned the people of Hong Kong in her speech.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/24/2020
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's government on Friday widened its requirements for reporting suspected cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and urged Taiwanese returning from China for the Lunar New Year to avoid visiting crowded places, as part of its preventive efforts against the deadly disease that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Under the latest government directive, doctors are required to report to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) if a patient shows up with a fever or acute respiratory infection and had been to Wuhan at least 14 days prior to falling ill, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said at a press conference.

Prior to Friday, suspected cases were identified as patients with both a fever and acute respiratory infection, who had been in Wuhan at least 14 days before the symptoms appeared.

Meanwhile, from Friday until Feb. 29, designated hospitals will also provide free antiviral drugs to patients with flu-like symptoms, regardless of their nationality, Chuang said.   [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 23 January, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

A senior US State Department official called for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday as the world faces the spread of China’s coronavirus.

The unnamed official said in a special briefing that “We would encourage further incorporation of Taiwan in the WHO.” The official said, “This is an important time, as you are seeing, the corona cases are popping up in Taiwan.” The official said that the US hopes Beijing will see the benefits of Taiwan’s participation in coping with the new SARS-like coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

In France, French National Assembly member Eric Bothorel also urged the WHO to include Taiwan as much as possible in the 2019-nCoV response. He tweeted, “Bring back Taiwan to the WHO now. Given the current situation, it is imperative that Taiwan be allowed to participate in the organization, at least in the capacity of an observer.”    [FULL  STORY]