■ Society
Factory explosion kills two
Two workers died yesterday in an explosion at a factory in Taoyuan County that produces polysilicone solar energy wafers. The two workers, whose identities have yet to be revealed, were employees of Green Energy Technology Co. They were rushed to the Hsinwu branch of the Taoyuan General Hospital, but doctors said they appeared to have died instantly in the explosion. Firefighters were called in to deal with the situation. An initial investigation showed that a reactor at the company's factory had exploded at about 2pm. Further investigations were called for to find out why the reactor exploded. Green Energy Technology is owned by Tatung Co, which produces computer and electronic home appliances.
■ Politics
Chen visits Wu in hospital
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday canceled a public function and visited his wife at the hospital after she nearly collapsed during a court session. First lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), who was indicted on corruption and forgery charges, was hospitalized on Friday after falling ill as a result of low blood pressure during the first session of her trial. The National Taiwan University Hospital yesterday said Wu's blood pressure was still low and that she would be better off remaining in the hospital for further observation. Wong Chao-wen (翁昭旼), a member of Wu's medical team, said that it would be inadvisable for her to appear in court in the near future but that they would provide any necessary assistance if she has to do so, even if she had to lie down.
■ Health
Scientists looking to chimps
Scientists from the National Health Research Institute(NHRI) are looking to work with chimpanzees to research new ways of combating AIDS, Alzheimer's and other human diseases. Despite the fact that chimpanzees share up to 99 percent of their genetic code with humans, they are either immune or highly resistant to many diseases that plague mankind, said Chen Feng-chi (陳豐奇), a researcher with the institute. Chimpanzees not only avoid the late stage complications to hepatitis B and C, but also do not develop AIDS after becoming infected with the HIV virus and elderly chimps never develop Alzheimer's disease, he said. After an analysis comparing human and chimpanzee genetic sequences, the NHRI discovered more than 840,000 examples of missing or extraneous sequences in the human genome. Chen compared the phenomenon to one word having two different spellings. The differences could be enough to influence the way the genes are expressed, or even cause them to cease to function completely, he added.
■ Weather
Cold to stay another day
The arrival of a large continental polar air mass is responsible for the drop in temperatures over the past two days and the mercury is not expected to rise significantly until tomorrow, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Bureau meteorologists said the cold air mass from the northwest has caused temperatures to plunge, with parts of northern Taiwan recording temperatures as low as 10oC early yesterday. The bureau also issued a strong wind warning for coastal areas and waters.
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