A Hong Kong woman shot in the face during a high-profile hostage situation in the Philippines three years ago was on Thursday discharged from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital following successful reconstructive surgery.
In a press conference, Yik Siu-ling (易小玲), 37, thanked staff at the hospital’s Linkou (林口) branch for the “best present for Christmas and the New Year.”
Yik underwent surgery at the hospital on Dec. 18 and is satisfied with the results after more than 30 attempts to repair her lower jaw.
Photo: CNA
She celebrated her “rebirth” with the seemingly simple act of taking a bite of cake prepared by the hospital — something she could not have done before the surgery.
It “feels really good,” she said, to have finally finished this part of her life after dozens of visits to doctors in Hong Kong and South Korea.
With the operation a success, Yik’s doctors will follow her condition for four to six months and, if she recovers well, could perform an operation for a dental implant, lead doctor Wei Fu-chan (魏福全) said.
A team led by Wei, a leading expert in reconstructive microsurgery, spent more than 10 hours rebuilding Yik’s lower jawbone and the skin tissue on her jaw and neck.
He described the surgery as a “10” on a 1 to 10 scale, largely because of damage left by previous unsuccessful operations.
Yik sustained her injury in August 2010 during a high-profile hostage situation in Manila.
She was one of several people injured when former Filipino police officer Rolando del Rosario Mendoza hijacked a bus full of Hong Kong tourists in a stand-off that ended in a shootout with police.
Eight hostages and Mendoza lost their lives, and Yik was left with a fractured lower jaw bone after being hit by a bullet.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS