Malaysia became the first country yesterday to bar tourists from China, where a doctor accused the health minister of covering up the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus that has killed more than 100 people worldwide.
In Hong Kong, two more people died after contracting the SARS virus and 42 new cases of the illness were detected, the government said yesterday.
The new deaths bring the total death toll in Hong Kong from the disease to 27.
A total of 970 cases of the mysterious respiratory illness have now been detected in the former British colony.
An official in Kuala Lumpur said Malaysian missions in China would no longer issue tourist visas in a bid to halt the spread of the disease.
Chinese travelling for government or business reasons were still welcome so long as they carried health certificates declaring that they had no symptoms of SARS, the official said.
A Chinese military doctor accused the health minister of covering up the number of people in the teeming capital of Beijing infected by SARS.
The flu-like disease has infected more than 2,800 people in about 20 countries with nearly half the cases, at least 1,279, in China.
Although the epidemic is small, it concerns doctors because the virus is new and has a death rate of nearly 4 percent.
Dr Jiang Yanyong, 71, said in a letter sent to journalists that six people had died of SARS and 60 had been infected at Beijing's military-run 309 Hospital by last Thursday.
Health Minister Zhang Wenkang (
Although Chinese officials said the epidemic was under control, Chinese doctors contacted by news organizations on Tuesday spoke of packed wards and many more deaths than reported by Beijing.
Jiang said he and many other doctors and nurses had been angry when they heard Zhang's statement.
"I think he wants very much to accomplish big things so he must tell lies," Jiang, a Communist Party member for more than 50 years, said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters yesterday.
Jiang's move, highly unusual for a Party member, could lay him open to being purged or even jailed for criticizing leaders publicly.
Asked to comment on Jiang's allegation, Health Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua said military hospitals were not under Zhang's jurisdiction.
"In China, military hospitals are independent. Zhang Wenkang has no control over military hospitals," Deng said.
At a news conference yesterday, Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Mao sidestepped questions on the doctor's accusations, saying the central and local governments would report figures on a regular basis, but declined to elaborate or give figures.
He said the Health Ministry was reporting daily to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"These cases of SARS have not affected the life and work of people in Beijing. Therefore it is safe to travel and work in Beijing," he said.Also See Story:
Hospitals to get SARS compensation
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS