Wang King-ho (王金河), the doctor popularly known as the “Father of Blackfoot Disease,” passed away on Thursday evening, aged 97.
Back in the late 1950s, a mysterious illness dubbed by locals “blackfoot disease” afflicted several townships in Tainan and Chiayi counties, including Syuejia (學甲), Beimen (北門), Budai (布袋) and Yijhu (義竹), where residents mainly depended on deep wells for drinking water.
With the aid of the Christian charity Mustard Seed Mission, Wang — a native of Tainan — set up a free clinic for the treatment of blackfoot disease in Beimen Township in 1960. That began his more than 25 years of practice mainly dedicated to the treatment of blackfoot disease.
At one time, the clinic took in more than 80 patients who lived and were treated for free at the clinic.
Wang’s old clinic — a modest Japanese-style one-story wooden structure — was designated as the Taiwan Blackfoot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House in September 2007 to commemorate his selfless dedication and the history of a disease unique to Taiwan.
Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that the city government would speak with Wang’s family on holding a memorial service to commemorate his work and lifetime of dedication and sacrifice.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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