Suicide and suicidal thoughts among teenagers are spiking. The Taiwan Fund for Children and Families says that a recent survey of 600 young people, a fifth have thought of suicide. But among the young, the rise in suicidal thoughts is striking. Among females 15-24, suicidal thoughts have tripled since 2014, to 7.6 percent. Notes from Central Taiwan is a column written by long-term resident Michael Turton, who provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country.

Medical world congress in Taiwan for first timeBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe 32nd World Congress of International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists (IASGO) opened in Taiwan for the first time on Saturday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Tai-yuan, left, gives a thumbs up at the World Congress of International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists, with congress president and National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) professor Lin Ming-tsan, center, and NTUH superintendent Wu Ming-Shiang, right, in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNANTUH superintendent Wu Ming-Shiang (吳明賢) said that among the 10 most common types of cancer in Taiwan, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer are all associated with the digestive system. As this year’s congress focuses on the applications of AI in surgery, gastroenterology and oncology, healthcare professionals could exchange ideas on how AI contributes to improving the outcome of medical services, providing patient-centered care, Wu said. According to IASGO, more than 1,500 medical experts from more than 90 countries are participating this year.

The world’s first self-propelled, electric container ship, Yara Birkeland, is moored at Langkaia in Oslo on Friday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store attends a tour of the Yara Birkeland in Oslo on Friday. While the distance the Yara Birkeland would cover might be short, there would be many obstacles. Experts also do not expect electric vessels to become a universal solution for the industry any time soon. “Not only would [a vessel] need to be autonomous for long distances, but you would also have to equip ports with battery chargers, so there are technical and infrastructure challenges that would need to be coordinated,” she said.

Three workers die in MRT construction site accidentStaff writer, with CNAThree workers were killed and two injured after scaffolding at a construction site collapsed in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽), the New Taipei City Fire Department said yesterday. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, with back to camera, inspects the site of a fatal scaffolding collapse on a Mass Rapid Transit construction site in the city’s Sansia District yesterday. All work at the site has been suspended pending an investigation to determine the cause of the accident, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said. An initial investigation found the cause of the accident to be loose fasteners on a horizontal section of the scaffolding, Occupational Safety and Health Administration head Chiang Tsung-lung (江宗龍) said. Contractor RSEA Engineering Corp (榮工工程) could face a fine of up to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), if found responsible, he said.

Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn (富士康) globally, said it plans to open a semiconductor design center in the Baogao Science and Intellectual Park in the city’s Sindian District (新店) to develop software used in self-driving, smart connectivity and smart cabins for EV production. Photo: ReutersMarket analysts said they expect Hon Hai to build an EV cluster in New Taipei City by taking advantage of the new investment in the industrial park. The industrial park is close to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進), a joint venture between Hon Hai and Taiwanese automaker Yulon Group (裕隆集團) to push for EV development. The department added that it would not know how much Hon Hai plans to spend on its new site before the contract is signed. Hon Hai will use the Baogao industrial park as a base for next generation smart EV development, the department said.

Modi makes U-turn on farm laws after mass protestsAFP, NEW DELHIIndia is to scrap agricultural reform laws that sparked a year of huge protests by farmers, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday in a surprising U-turn that sparked celebrations, but also criticism from economists. Farmers celebrate yesteday in Singhu, India, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a repeal of agricultural reform laws. Photo: AFPIn a contrite address to the nation coinciding with a major Sikh festival — the religion of many farmers — Modi said the laws would be repealed in parliament’s winter session, which begins later this month. Thousands of Indian farmers commit suicide every year because of poverty, debt and ever more erratic weather patterns caused by climate change. “Now there will be no agriculture sector reforms for the next 25 years...

Upgrades to boost defense: expertsBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe military’s upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16s are a major boost to Taiwan’s defense, defense experts said yesterday, as the air force marked the commission of the jets in a ceremony at Chiayi Air Base. Taiwan air force F-16V fighter jets are pictured yesterday in Chiayi County. “The air force’s potential to defeat a numerically superior enemy in modern air defense operations is greatly enhanced by the integrated tactical network capabilities offered by 4.5-generation fighters such as F-16Vs,” he said. The document says that the armed forces’ concept of all-out defense has shifted from defending beachheads and waters near Taiwan to pushing the defense zone toward the enemy, he said. Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor of strategic and international affairs at National Chung Cheng University, said that the AESA-equipped F-16Vs would be a welcome improvement for the air force.

US bid at unity derailed by S Korea-Japan rowAFP, WASHINGTONA US effort to show unity between two of its closest allies backfired, after Japanese and South Korean officials walked out and left the No. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks on the situation in Afghanistan at the US Department of State in Washington on Aug. 21. “Under these circumstances, we have decided that it is inappropriate to hold a joint news conference,” the spokesman said. During the trilateral meeting on Wednesday, the three sides reaffirmed their “shared commitment” to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Sherman said. She renewed US President Joe Biden’s offer of dialogue with North Korea, which so far remains unanswered.

KMT’s Yen looks to retake Taichung seatBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT’s) nominee for a by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district yesterday registered his candidacy with the Central Election Commission. Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) confirmed his intent to run in the by-election on Jan. 9 to fill the seat left vacant after the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) was recalled on Oct. 23. Yen previously held the seat after winning a 2013 by-election to replace his father, former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who was sentenced to prison in November 2012 for graft. Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng in Taichung yesterday displays his completed registration form for the legislative by-election in the city’s second electoral district. He arrived at the commission’s Taichung office to register with only one office assistant present.

UN warns of soaring consumer pricesBOTTLENECKS: Surging freight rates will have a heavy impact on trade and undermine socioeconomic recovery until supply problems are resolved, an UNCTAD official saidAFP, GENEVAThe UN yesterday warned that a surge in container freight rates could mean higher prices for consumers next year unless COVID-19 pandemic-fueled problems are untangled. “Global consumer prices will rise significantly in the year ahead until shipping supply chain disruptions are unblocked and port constraints and terminal inefficiencies are tackled,” UNCTAD said in its Review of Maritime Transport 2021 report. The mismatch led to record container freight rates “on practically all container trade routes,” the report said. The rise in consumer prices is expected to be 7.5 percent in SIDS and 2.2 percent in LDCs. E-commerce — accelerated by the pandemic — has changed consumer shopping habits and spending patterns, the report said.

No change on Taiwan for CCP: officialEYE ON PRIZE: Although a CCP resolution mentions the ‘unswerving historical mission’ of ‘unifying’ China, its primary focus was on solidifying Xi’s position, Wellington Koo saidBy Hsieh Chun-lin and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe absence of a timeline for addressing the “Taiwan issue” in a “historical” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) resolution adopted last week indicates there is no change in Beijing’s Taiwan policy, despite saying it is central to party philosophy, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. Presidential Office Secretary-General David Lee, left, and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo attend a legislative hearing in Taipei yesterday. The Taiwan comment was an obligatory mention that does not differ from previous CCP statements, he added. After his call with Xi on Monday, Biden told reporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday that Taiwan is “independent. US policy toward China is gradually becoming clearer, first by it firmly opposing any change in cross-strait stability by non-peaceful means, Koo said.

COVID-19: CECC reports five new virus cases, all importedVACCINE BREAKTHROUGH: One of the cases was a woman who is thought to have contracted the disease in India and recovered, posing little risk to the communityBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported five imported cases of COVID-19, including a case who returned to Taiwan in August, but tested positive on Tuesday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung in Taipei yesterday reports on emergency overseas travel arrangements for people who have received Taiwan’s Medigen COVID-19 vaccine. Photo: CNAThree of the imported cases are vaccine breakthrough infections, said CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. One of the breakthrough cases is a Taiwanese woman who returned from India on Aug. 20, but tested positive in a self-paid test on Tuesday, he said. She tested positive for antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein and the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, but tested negative for IgM and IgG, meaning that she was likely to have had a previous infection, he said.

The program will be broadcast at 2pm every Sunday, along with a special daily Taiwan Bravo themed segment on SetTV. Julian from FranceJulian now works with a local bed-and-breakfast in Penghu, providing reservation-only cuisine using locally sourced seafood made using French cooking methods. Lee went from not knowing anything about crabs to being able to prepare meals using crabs on her own to becoming a master chef, developing her own recipe for Southeast Asian curried crab. The stories of these new immigrants, told in the Taiwan Bravo TV program sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund, relate their experiences living in Taiwan and show how different cultures can come together. Brought to you by the Ministry of Interior National Immigration Agency and SetTV, sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund(Advertorial)Taiwan Bravo Line account: https://lin.ee/UvcPzddTaiwan Bravo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SETwearefamily/Taiwan Bravo Web site: http://setwearefamily.setn.com/Taiwan Bravo YouTube: https://bit.ly/331eyXb

A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a woman in Tainan yesterday. Those preferring to receive AstraZeneca as their second dose would not need to make any changes in the system, he said. Those who received AstraZeneca and Moderna did report having more side effects after the second dose, compared with those who received two doses of AstraZeneca, Lo said. On Tuesday, 216,664 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 76.58 percent and the full vaccination rate to 43.69 percent, he said. Asked about booster shots, Chuang said that by Jan. 31, only about 263,000 people in Taiwan would have had their second dose for more than six months.

Europe seems to have had enoughBy Manik MehtaResentment against China is growing not just in the US and Australia, but also increasingly in Europe, where leaders are showing signs of intense frustration over Beijing’s dictates on what is acceptable regarding its “one China” principle and, by default, on the Taiwan issue. By contrast, China’s autocratic rule is anathema not just for the US, but also for Europe. As in the US, Europe is not happy with China’s cultural policy, which purports to promote Chinese language and culture. The institutes, established in 2004 to popularize Chinese language learning, are closely connected with the CCP — which is disconcerting for many in the US and Europe. Indeed, institute director Thorsten Benner has called on Europe and the US to “identify economic and technological levers” to use against China.