■ Education
Corporal punishment banned
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Education Basic Law (教育基本法) on Tuesday, banning any form of corporal punishment in schools and making Taiwan the 109th country in the world to protect students with formal legislation. The Humanistic Education Foundation -- the prime mover behind the legislation -- welcomed the news after lawmakers passed the amendment following a third reading. According to a spokesman for the foundation, the amended law will benefit the nation's 5.3 million students. He said that all students are entitled to the right not to be subjected to physical punishment, be they in public or private kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, colleges or any other educational institutions.
■ Politics
Shaw changes hospitals
The wife of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) was moved to a hospital in Taichung yesterday due to her improved condition. After spending 26 days at Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan County, Shaw Hsiao-ling (邵曉鈴) was transported to China Medical University Hospital in Taichung. Before her departure, Hu thanked Chi Mei Medical Center for accomplishing a "mission impossible" and gave the hospital superintendent, who was also a high-school classmate, Chan Chi-shean (詹啟賢), a big hug. Hu told reporters that an expert who had helped built dinosaur models for the movie Jurassic Park had offered to help make an artificial arm for his wife, to replace her amputated left arm. "I hope it does not turn out to be a dinosaur's arm," Hu said jokingly, drawing laughter from reporters.
■ Transport
MOTC to rule on `accident'
Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Ho Nuan-hsuen (何煖軒) said yesterday that the transportation ministry would decide tomorrow whether an incident that occurred last Tuesday in Tsoying (左營) could be defined as an "accident." Last month, the ministry's inspectors committee required that the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp must turn in an accident-free record for at least a month before they could be issued an operational permit. However, two accidents have already occurred since the announcement. Last Tuesday, one of the points on railway tracks was found to be split open for reasons unknown. Ho said at the legislature's Transportation Committee that the ministry would defer to the judgment of the inspectors committee. Inspectors would also determine whether test runs should start from scratch, he added.
■ Education
Test results released
The Ministry of Education released the results of its first test to certify Chinese language instructors yesterday. Last month, some 2,000 aspiring Chinese teachers took the examination, which consists of five sections to evaluate examinees' grasp of Mandarin, as well as pedagogical skills, local media said. The ministry announced in a press release yesterday that just 72 examinees had passed all five sections. The ministry will confer three-year teaching certificates to the 72 successful examinees later this month, allowing them to market themselves as officially accredited Chinese language instructors, the release said, adding that certified teachers will need to renew their accreditation every three years.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
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