Taiwan Life in Brief – October 2017

DYNAMIC DUO — Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan and Swiss partner Martina Hingis after winning the U.S. Open Women’s Doubles championship. Photo: CNA

Taiwan Tennis Star Wins Doubles Title

The tennis duo of Chan Yung-jan from Taiwan and her legendary Swiss partner Martina Hingis took another doubles title, the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, in late September. It was the eighth triumph for the pair and came soon after their victory in the U.S. Open on September 9, their first Grand Slam title. Despite being a hometown hero, Chan faced strong criticism for forfeiting her doubles match at the Taipei Universiade, which she abandoned in order to fly to the New York for the U.S. Open. Hingis is currently ranked number 1 in women’s doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association, followed by Chan at number 2.

Sailors Jailed Over Missile Death

Three Navy personnel were convicted by the Kaohsiung District Court of causing death by negligence while on duty in an accidental missile firing that killed a fisherman July 1. The three were held responsible for the inadvertent launching of a Hsiung-feng III (Brave Wind) supersonic missile from a frigate while engaged in training exercises. The missile flew 75 kilometers over the Taiwan Strait towards China before hitting a trawler and killing the skipper. The defendants each received prison sentences ranging from 14 months to two years. The trawler captain’s family had already received a settlement of NT$34.84 million (US$1.6 million) from the government.

More Problems Found with the Egg Supply

Eggs contaminated with the pesticide fipronil were once again discovered, following a scandal in August that revealed widespread contamination of the domestic egg supply. The latest case implicates a farm in Tainan as the source of the contamination. The fipronil level in the eggs was 10 parts per billion (ppb), which exceeds the 5ppb limit set by Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration.

In additional food-safety news, Yeh Wen-hsiang, chairman of the Chang Guann Co., the company at the core of the 2013/2014 waste-oil scandal, attempted suicide on September 13 after being convicted of 285 counts of food-safety and aggravated fraud violations, leading to a 22-year prison sentence. Yeh’s company was founded to have sold food oils produced with recycled waste oils.