Print

Mail

wiki links

Taiwan Quick Take

■ POLITICS
Tainan museum opens
A museum about the political history of the Tainan City Government opened yesterday, making it the first museum of its kind in Taiwan. Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and Tainan City Council Speaker Huang Yu-wen (黃郁文) presided over the inauguration of the museum, which occupies the 72-year-old building that formerly housed the city council. To mark the inauguration, the city government organized an exhibition of historical materials including the history of the city council, council speakers and members, city mayors, local elections, development of local autonomy in Tainan City, the Tainan Canal and the folk tales originating in Tainan.

■ WEATHER
Typhoon forms in Pacific
A new typhoon formed yesterday morning, named "Kong-Rey," but as of yesterday does not pose an immediate threat to Taiwan given its distance from the country, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The depression system-turned typhoon, located about 880km east southeast to Guam, was moving in a northwestern direction toward Taiwan at a speed of 17kkph as of 2pm yesterday, bureau meteorologists said. Owing to the typhoon's distance from Taiwan, the weather bureau said it remains to be seen how it would develop and its possible impact on Taiwan in the following several days. It is the first typhoon reported in the western Pacific this year.

■ POLITICS
Taitung magistrate detained
Taitung County Deputy Commissioner Huang Fa-lou (黃發樓), of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was taken into custody early yesterday on charges of corruption after public prosecutors with the Taitung District Court interrogated him over his involvement in a construction contract bid rigging case four years ago. The prosecutors suspected that Huang had received kickbacks after bid rigging in the awarding of contracts for construction projects while he was acting head of Taitung County's Dajen Township (達仁) in 2003. After searching Huang's home and office, prosecutors brought him to the Public Prosecutors' Office for questioning regarding his role in the corruption case.

■ SCIENCE
Researcher bags award
A researcher at the National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu won the Hiwin Science Award on Saturday for developing a method to help detect blood vessel tumors, called hemangiomas, in brain. Tsai Tsung-han (蔡宗翰), who has just completed his master's degree in mechanical engineering from National Tsinghua University, would receive a gold medal in addition to a NT$800,000 cash award, according to an executive of the Hiwin Technologies Corp which sponsors the prize. Tsai developed the method to predict the rupture location of hemangiomas in the brain based on the theory that the development of tumors on blood vessels would inevitably change the blood flow in the vessel, and thereby betray their existence. With the help of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Tsai analyzed the brain images, made by magnetic resonance imaging angiography, of patients who suffered from the burst of hemangiomas, and found regular subtle changes in the blood flow of these patients.

This story has been viewed 1684 times.