■Vatican
Pope lends moral support
The Holy See supports Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, a high-ranking Vatican official said yesterday. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Holy See had told the US that Taiwan has the Vatican's moral support in its bid. The Vatican's position may influence the attitude of the world community toward Taiwan, he said. The official said the Vatican's position may be seen as Pope John Paul II's reply to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent letter, in which Chen congratulated the pope on his 83rd birthday and asked for his support for Taiwan's bid to join the WHA and other international organizations. The Vatican sympathizes with Taiwan over its exclusion from the WHA, the official said.
■ Health
Hockey trip canceled
The spread of SARS in Taiwan has caused children of the Liming Elementary School in Pingtung to be rejected from participating in the annual California Cup field hockey tournament, according to school principal Chang Fang-ming (張放明). Chang said that the school team, the champions of the National Chungcheng Cup Hockey Tournament, registered with the California Cup sponsor -- the Field Hockey Sports Center -- months ago and was scheduled to play at the annual event's division for girls under 16 on May 24. Chang said that his school received a fax from the sponsor on the eve of its departure for the US stating that Taiwan had been removed from the invitees' list due to the spread of SARS. Chang said that it has not been easy for the school in remote Pingtung County to raise the money for the school team to represent Taiwan in the event. While the school will suffer losses due to cancelations of hotel and transportation bookings, the frustration caused to the young players is worse, he added.
■ Health
SARS hospitals assigned
The government has assigned 10 hospitals nationwide to accommodate patients suspected of having SARS to relieve the workload of many research hospitals. Since the outbreak of the disease, research hospitals have received numerous suspected SARS patients transferred from regional hospitals and small clinics. The accommodation of suspected SARS patients has become a serious problem because the limited medical personnel and resources of these research hospitals has been exhausted with the mounting number of newly reported cases. On the other hand, some hospitals have not taken in suspected SARS patients for fear that their treatment would be beyond the hospital's capabilities. The 10 hospitals will be able to offer 3,200 beds to suspected SARS patients, with the completion of necessary facilities.
■ Politics
County Commissioner dies
Hualien County Commissioner Chang Fu-hsing (張福興) of the KMT died of lung cancer at Taipei's Veteran's General Hospital yesterday. He was 61. Chang was diagnosed with lung cancer late last year. He had been undergoing chemotherapy at Veteran's General Hospital since March. According to the Law on Local Government Systems (地方制度法), an election has to be held within three months after the death of an elected local government official if the remaining tenure of the official is more than two years. Chang, who started his four-year tenure in December 2001, had 31 more months left in his term.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
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