Staff writer, with CNA
POLITICS
Kenneth Fan passes
Taiwanese writer and political commentator Kenneth Fan (范疇), known for his unique insights into issues related to Taiwan and China, has died at the age of 68, an online platform founded by Fan said on Wednesday. The Indo-Pacific Risk Forecast Center, also called insightFan, said in a statement that Fan died of cardiovascular disease at home early on Monday. No public memorial service is to be held, per Fan’s wishes, it said. Fan wrote several books on cross-strait issues and had a long been a columnist for several Asian media outlets. Fan upheld the idea that “communist China is not equivalent to China,” and praised Taiwan as a model for “striving in between the great powers and at the same time shaping democracy and freedom,” the statement said. The political commentator had always promoted this “Taiwanology” in the international community.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
SOCIETY
House fire kills two
A fire in Taoyuan on Wednesday claimed two lives and left one person in a critical condition, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The fire started at 7:28pm in a house on Longshou Street in Taoyuan District (桃園), resulting in the deaths of an 85-year-old woman surnamed Kan (干) and a 57-year-old woman surnamed Chien (簡), while severely injuring an eight-year-old boy surnamed Kan (干), prosecutors said. Kan and Chien were the boy’s great-grandmother and grandmother, they added. After a preliminary investigation, prosecutors said the fire started in the great-grandmother’s bedroom and could have been deliberately set, but the exact cause of the fire is still being investigated. The great-grandmother did not have a good relationship with the grandmother and had been unstable following her husband’s recent death, prosecutors said, adding that the great-grandmother’s body was burned beyond recognition with a lighter next to her. The grandmother was later pronounced dead, while the boy was resuscitated and was in intensive care, prosecutors said.
HEALTHCARE
Hornets attack 100 hikers
Two members of a 100-member tour group from New Taipei City were unconscious and nine others injured after a hornet swarm attacked them at Taitung County’s Luanshan Forest Museum (鸞山森林博物館) on Wednesday, local authorities said. One injured woman said the attack happened after one person tried taking a shortcut. After the person swatted away a hornet, a large swarm appeared, she said. Aliman, the museum’s founder, said the tour group was apparently attacked by lesser banded hornets, resulting in multiple injuries. Eleven people were sent to area hospitals after the attack, with two unconscious when emergency services arrived, the Taitung County Fire Department said
HEALTHCARE
Non-mRNA vaccine coming
Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is likely to arrive next month, making it the second vaccine offered against more recent strains, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration received documents late last month to begin reviewing the vaccine for emergency use authorization, CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said. If it passes review, the doses could begin arriving some time next month, Tseng said. Novavax is a subunit protein vaccine, which might be a good option for people who experienced adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines like Moderna, Tseng said.
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