Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師), founder of Buddhist organization Fo Guang Shan, is in stable condition after suffering a stroke, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said yesterday.
The master was rushed to the hospital by his followers on Monday night after he felt numbness on his left side, including his hand and foot.
The hospital immediately formed a team to treat him and confirmed that he was suffering from blood-vessel sclerosis in his brain and an ischemic stroke.
The hospital said that Master Hsing Yun, 84, has a history of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood lipids and heart disease.
He checked into the hospital after a stroke in October and had recovered from that, but he had been fatigued in recent days from activities related to the opening of a Buddha Memorial Center in Greater Kaohsiung, Fo Guang Shan Monastery said.
The hospital said although he was in stable condition, he would remain there for observation for the time being.
Both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) sent Master Hsing Yun their regards yesterday, expressing their concern.
In related news, Tsai and first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) yesterday visited the Buddha Memorial Center.
The five-story memorial hall was unveiled on Sunday after nine years of construction. The 4,000 ping (13,223m2) complex has eight stupas, 48 underground palaces and the nation’s tallest Buddha statue at 108m high.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,