Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) wrote a post on his Facebook page on Saturday, in which he said that trace quantities of radioactive elements are actually good for one’s health.
He gave as examples the hot springs in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) and the Tamagawa hot spring in Japan’s Akita Prefecture, which are the only places on Earth known to have a special kind of rock called hokutolite. Hokutolite, which is named after the Japanese pronunciation of the name “Beitou,” contains traces of radium, and Hsieh said that research shows this rock to be beneficial for one’s health.
Interestingly, some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians had a knee-jerk reaction to Hsieh’s post about the quality of these hot springs.