The Department of Health official who acquired samples of Burkholderia pseudomallei -- a bacterium which can be used as a biochemical weapon -- from a public hospital for use in her own research without obtaining official permission will be dealt with soon, Minister Hou Sheng-mou (
Answering questions at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Health, Environment and Social Welfare Committee, Hou said that the department would take appropriate disciplinary action against Su Hsun-pi (
Hou said that although the bacterium is an important cause of acute fulminant pneumonia and septicaemia in tropical regions and could be used by terrorists as a biochemical weapon, the bacterium's isolates are not spread person-to-person.
Hou made the remarks in response to criticism leveled against the department by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), who accused the department of negligence for failing to discipline Su -- the younger sister of Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) -- four months after the incident was exposed by media.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyi-bao (賴士葆) lashed out at Su for creating a "hole" in Taiwan's disease prevention network by rashly acquiring the strains from a hospital for her own research without following standard control procedures.
"How could the department think of joining the WHO should news of this incident be reported abroad?" he asked.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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