■Computers
Virus poised to strike
At least 15 computer viruses are expected to strike today, Friday the 13th, Trend Micro Inc warned yesterday. The computer viruses set to strike include Atom.E, Atom.G.De, Thus.C, Thus.F, Thus.Q, Thus.001, Datacrime, Cascade, Got you, Tedious, Badboy.A, Phardera.A, Paycheck, and Friday 13th, the company, which produces anti-virus software, said. Many viruses are set to strike in December, it said. Except for the Happy Time virus, which already struck at the beginning of this month, most other viruses will strike after mid-December. "And more than 15 viruses are expected to strike tomorrow, which is popularly known as Black Friday," said a Trend Micro anti-virus expert. Among others, he said, "Friday the 13th" virus tends to strike on the 13th day of every month. "This virus has many variations. If the light on your A disk drive continues to remain on tomorrow, it means your personal computer has been infected with the virus," he explained. He urged computer users to refrain from opening suspicious files or e-mail today, to avoid infection.
■ Politics
KMT whip sues mayor
The KMT's legislative whip filed a libel suit yesterday against Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) was accompanied by his lawyer when he filed the suit with the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office and requested civil compensation of NT$100 million (US$2.94 million). Hsieh has accused Lee of passing counterfeit checks and of involvement in a third party's family dispute. Lee also sued other top officials of the Kaohsiung City Council. During the mayoral election campaign, Lee produced a copy of an NT$4.5 million check given to Hsieh in 1994 -- when Hsieh was a legislator -- by Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), a major shareholder in Kaohsiung's Zanadau Development Corp. But Hsieh said the check was the repayment of a loan he made to Yu Chen Yue-ying (余陳月瑛), a former Kaohsiung county magistrate. Lee alleged that the money was in fact a political donation from Su, channelled to Hsieh through Yu Chen.
■ Rescue
Eight fishermen saved
All eight crew members aboard a Taipei County fishing boat, which became stranded in stormy weather because of mechanical failure, were safely rescued by the coast guard early yesterday morning, police reported. Crew of the mullet-fishing boat Hung Fa No. 6 sent out an SOS signal at around 3am yesterday after the vessel ran aground several miles off Pahli, Taipei County. The Taipei County Fire Department called for help from the Coast Guard Administration, which dispatched a helicopter to the scene. Braving strong winds and huge waves brought on by a cold front from the north, the helicopter managed to save all the crew members, including two Taiwanese and six Chinese, by lifting them from the boat one by one.
■ Health
Cancer center opens
A cancer medical care center offering both conventional therapy as well as complementary and alternative medicine was set up in Taipei yesterday to provide cancer patients with alternative healing practices. A spokesman of the center said that the therapy is used either together with conventional medicine or in place of conventional medicine. Over the past few years, clinical reports have shown that this kind of therapy can help reduce patients' discomfort following surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Agencies
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard