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Omega-3 fish oil can reduce ADHD symptoms

Children with the lowest levels of omega-3 showed improved attention and vigilance after taking supplements.

BBC Science Focus Magazine
Date: 23rd November, 2019
By: James Lloyd

The fatty acids found in oily fish could provide a new way to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, according to a study at King’s College London, UK and China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan.

ADHD is a behavioural disorder that’s characterised by hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and a difficulty in paying attention. Currently, ADHD is most commonly treated using stimulants such as methylphenidate (Ritalin), which have been shown to reduce symptoms. But a new, natural treatment could be on the cards.

Previous research has shown that children with an omega-3 deficiency are more likely to have more severe ADHD. In this new study, the researchers gave 92 children with ADHD aged 6-18 high doses of the omega-3 fatty acid EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) or a placebo for 12 weeks.

The children with the lowest pre-existing blood levels of omega-3 showed improved attention and vigilance after taking the omega-3 supplements – outdoing even the improvement that’s previously been seen in studies with methylphenidate.    [FULL  STORY]

TRA station fills with smoke in New Taipei City

Passengers flee Banqiao station after smoke billows up under train, caused by overheated wheels

Taiwan News
Dater: 2019/11/23
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TRA train (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Banqiao station in New Taipei City was filled with smoke on Saturday (Nov. 23) morning after train wheels overheated, causing terrified passengers to flee.

According to a Facebook post shared by a train passenger, the incident occurred at around 11 a.m. A lot of smoke billowed up from underneath the train compartments.    [FULL  STORY]

GOLDEN HORSE: Malaysian Yeo Yann Yann wins best lead actress

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/23
By: William Yen

Yeo Yann Yann

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Malaysian Yeo Yann Yann won the Golden Horse Award for best lead actress Saturday for her performance in "Wet Season" (熱帶雨), playing the part of a Chinese language teacher whose marriage and career are falling apart.

It was Yeo's second Golden Horse Award, after she won best supporting actress in 2013 for her role in the Singaporean drama "Ilo Ilo."

The judges praised Yeo's acting as close to perfect in portraying a woman who reflects dignity and resilience.

"I want to thank the Golden Horse Awards for another chance for me to be here," she said.
[FULL  STORY]

CDC rejects rumor about plague from Chinese sites

NO MORE RUMORS: The CDC has reported a fourth case of the plague in China and clarified that it can only be spread through contact with infected rodents

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 24, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

A rumor about finding fleas or insect eggs with plague-causing bacteria on products purchased online

Images and description of the symptoms of three plagues are displayed on Centers for Disease Control poster.
Photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control

from China is false, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday.

The centers said on Friday that China confirmed a fourth case of the plague. A person living in Inner Mongolia ate raw wild rabbit and was infected with bubonic plague, one of three types of the plague.

The first case was confirmed in September after a person living in Gansu Province died of septicemic plague, followed by two cases of pneumonic plague contracted by a married couple in Inner Mongolia on Nov. 12, the CDC said.

The centers said the Beijing Municipal Health Commission does not consider the fourth case to be associated with the second and third cases.    [FULL  STORY]

Transportation minister calls for development of smart public transit

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 22 November, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung, pictured at a forum on smart mass transit Friday.

Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung says that Taiwan should prepare to play a role in the field of smart public transit. Lin was speaking Friday during a press conference for a forum on the topic.

He said that in 2022, smart public transport services are projected to be worth US$16 billion. He said that Taiwan should be prepared to take advantage of such global potential.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan says China fails to pay up on $8.6 billion in aid pledges to former allies

Reuters
Date:  22, 2019
By: Yimou Lee

TAIPEI, Nov 22 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Friday that China had failed to deliver aid promises worth $8.6 billion and instead “exported corruption” to nations that had switched allegiance to Beijing from Taipei, amid a tug-of-war for diplomatic recognition.

China has in recent months stepped up a campaign to peel away more allies from self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers its territory and so ineligible for state-to-state relations, ahead of a January presidential election in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said Beijing had made “false” aid promises totalling $8.6 billion to several of Taiwan’s former allies, for various projects from sea ports to highways.

“To lure Taiwan’s allies to build ties with them, China often makes promises with huge amounts of money. But we realise those promises were not fulfilled,” Wu told reporters in Taipei.
[FULL  STORY]

Green Party Taiwan favors legalization of medical marijuana

Green Party Taiwan legislator-at-large candidate Zoe Lee to spearhead campaign to legalize medical weed

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/11/22
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Green Party Taiwan on Thursday (Nov. 21) announced that it is in favor of legalizing medical cannabis in Taiwan and has selected one of its legislator-at-large candidates to spearhead the campaign.

On the Green Party Taiwan Facebook page on Thursday, the party announced that it will work to legalize medical marijuana in the country. It also announced that Zoe Lee (李菁琪), a human rights lawyer who voluntarily defends those who have been affected by environmental degradation, would lead the charge in the Legislative Yuan if elected.

The Green Party wrote that if its new candidates are voted into the Legislative Yuan, they will ask the Ministry of Health and Welfare to assess the feasibility of the legal import and sale of Cannabidiol (CBD), Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and other cannabis extracts. The party claims that the legalization of such products could provide additional medical options for patients with muscle pain, anxiety, arthritis, epilepsy, and other trauma disorders.

In addition, the party wrote that it would support reviewing the current legal classification of recreational cannabis. The Green Party also hopes that, on the condition of legal regulation, Taiwanese farmers and pharmacies will have the opportunity to develop relevant industries that are riding the global cannabis legalization wave and "not miss out on the economic dividend of cannabis."    [FULL  STORY]

Legislature passes special budget for F-16 purchase

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/22
By Wang Yang-yu, Justin Su and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislature on Friday passed a special budget for the purchase of a new fleet of advanced F-16 fighter jets from the United States, less than one month after the budget was approved by the Cabinet on Oct. 31.

The allocation of NT$247.24 billion (US$8.1 billion) over seven years from 2020 to 2026 for the procurement of 66 F-16 C/D Block 70 fighter planes was cut by a mere NT$10 million.

The swift passage and the insignificant cut to the budget by lawmakers were attributed to the willingness of both the ruling and opposition parties to pass the budget bill before it would have entered a one-month period of interparty negotiations.

Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗), a caucus whip, said the KMT caucus supported the budget bill because it believes purchasing fighter jets will help improve the national defense capability of the Republic of China (Taiwan).    [FULL  STORY]

Historian warns of China and ‘united front’ tactics

HONG KONG LESSONS: Yu Ying-shih said that although Taiwanese elect their leaders and their scientific record is good, the nation’s democracy has not yet matured

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 23, 2019
By: Rachel Lin  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan is facing a formidable crisis as Beijing’s “united front” tactics penetrate society, Chinese-born

Chinese-American historian and Academia Sinica academician Yu Ying-shih yesterday delivers a recorded online lecture for National Chengchi University’s Luo Jialun International Sinology Seminar in this screen grab from the university’s Facebook page.
Screen grab from National Chengchi University’s Facebook account

American historian Yu Ying-shih (余英時) said yesterday in a recorded speech, urging people to resist Chinese infiltration by improving “humanistic learning.”

An Academia Sinica academician, the US-based historian and Sinologist’s speech, titled “From scientific democracy to humanistic democracy,” was for a Sinology forum named after Chinese historian Luo Jialun (羅家倫) at National Chengchi University in Taipei.

Noting the protests against Hong Kong’s extradition bill, which has been withdrawn, Yu said that high-school students and undergraduates are the group voicing the strongest objection to oppression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Although Taiwanese society generally supports the protesters in their pursuit for democracy, other opinions are still heard, the 89-year-old said.    [FULL  STORY]

‘Detention’: A Clichéd Salute to Freedom

2019 Golden Horse Awards

The News Lens
Date: 2019/11/21
By: Daphne K. Lee

“Have you forgotten or are you scared of remembering?” This eerie quote from the recent Taiwanese horror film Detention (返校) has become a catchphrase among the twentysomethings.

For the younger Taiwanese who never lived through an authoritarian era, they might just use the haunting question to mock their forgetful friends. But it alludes to a traumatic history that’s still relevant today.

Adapted from a survival video game of the same title, Detention is the first feature film directed by John Hsu. The film has received widespread attention for its attempt to explore — or exploit — a highly sensitive topic: Taiwan’s martial law period between 1949 and 1987. It was one of the world’s longest martial law periods, during which hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese were jailed or executed for their alleged opposition to the authoritarian government Kuomintang.

Set in the fictional Greenwood High School in 1962, the first segment of the film, “Nightmare,” opens with a female student, Fang Ray-shin (Gingle Wang), waking up from a nap and finding herself in a ghostly classroom with broken windows and chilling winds. In an act that mimics the original gameplay, Fang lights a red candle that becomes the only light source leading us from one dimly-lit scene to another.    [FULL  STORY]