Read this story and you may never look at your neighborhood's motley collection of stray dogs in quite the same way again. An affable little dog named Blackie (
Yes, you read it right: Newsweek, Time, the New York Times may soon start barking at Blackie's door. Why? Doctors at Tri Service General Hospital (三軍總醫院) have performed a pioneering operation to restore the functions of his severed spinal cord. The procedure may make medical history and even prove useful for humans.
Here's the story: Just hours after Blackie's spinal cord was severed 18 months ago, causing him to lose the use of his rear left leg, doctors reconnected Blackie's spine and powered him back up.
This was followed by a rigorous 18-month program of rehabilitation -- "Sit! Run! Heel! Good dog!" -- and now Blackie has fully recovered the use of his leg, according to the doctors.
More tests are needed to confirm that Blackie's spinal nerves have repaired themselves, and similar tests will be conducted on two more dogs. If the experiments are successful, it could revolutionize the treatment of spinal injuries worldwide.
Sign of the times
Eric Gellman, writing about Taiwan in the Los Angeles Times recently, noted that in Hualien's night market there's a sign in Chinese that reads: "Over 70? Eat for free."
Have pen, will travel
Ha Jin, recent winner of a National Book Award in the US for his novel Waiting, left China for Boston in 1985. As he developed as a writer in the US, one of his first steps was to take a pen name. Why?
"My real name was Jin Xuefei, but I realized that `x' words like `xue' are impossible for Americans to pronounce. So I adopted Ha Jin [as my pen name]," he told a New York Times reporter recently. To learn more about Ha Jin's life in the US, turn to Page 11 in today's edition.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique