■ Cross-strait ties
Beijing bans tours to Taiwan
China is prohibiting groups from visiting Taiwan amid fears the travelers would spread the SARS virus, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. Xinhua quoted an unidentified spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office as saying that the ban on group travel across the Taiwan Strait would be effective until further notice. ``We are confident that cross-strait exchanges and contacts between personnel will continue to develop after SARS is curtailed,'' the spokesman reportedly said. Phone calls to the Taiwan Affairs Office went unanswered after business hours yesterday.
■ Science
Delegation in Denmark
A four-member delegation from Academia Sinica arrived in Copenhagen on Tuesday to attend the 6th symposium of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Shao Kwang-Chao (劭廣昭), director of Academia Sinica's Institute of Zoology, is heading the delegation that will attend the three-day gathering that ends today. The GBIF has 36 members and its purpose is to make the world's biodiversity data freely and universally available.
■ Transportation
CKS numbers plummet
The number of arrivals and departures at CKS International Airport hit a record low of 12,342 on Monday, according to figures released by the airport administration. The historic lows -- 6,560 arrivals and 5,782 departures -- were a result of the government's decision to impose a 10-day period of forced confinement on passengers coming from areas and countries listed by the World Health Organization as affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Monday's figure was about 25 percent of the normal traffic volume, airport officials said, adding that travelers from China, Macau, Singapore and Canada totaled 2,266, including 38 foreigners.
■ Health
Vaccine hunt team formed
Academia Sinica will organize a research team to try to develop vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), president Lee Yuan-tse (李遠哲) said on Tuesday evening. Lee said that Michael Lai (賴明詔), who will take over the post as the institute's vice president in July, along with Chen Ting-hsin (陳定信), president of National Taiwan University Hospital, will be in charge of organizing the project. Lee expressed his confidence in the lineup of academics, saying it is expected that the 16-member research unit will be able to develop the vaccines within a six-month to one-year period.
■ Crime
Robbers shoot police officer
Two gunmen shot a police officer 11 times during a robbery at the Motor Vehicles Office in Taichung City yesterday. They escaped with NT$10 million. The police officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was taken to the Taichung Veterans General Hospital for treatment but his condition was not thought to be life-threatening. The two robbers hid in a toilet at the office until cash trucks arrived at around 5pm, when the office closed. After opening fire on two police officers, the robbers fled on a motorcycle with the cash. Yesterday was the final day to pay vehicle license plate taxes, the police said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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