National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday held a ceremony for the construction of its cancer center in Taipei, which is planned to be completed in 2017 and begin operating in 2018.
The ceremony, held at the construction site on Keelung Road near NTU’s main campus, was hosted by university president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) and YongLin Healthcare Foundation founder and Hon Hai Precision Industry co-chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).
NTU and YongLin signed a donation contract on Dec. 19, 2008, which was an agreement that the foundation would fund and cooperate with NTU to construct a cancer center to provide world-class treatment and personalized medical services, the university said.
During the ceremony, Yang said Gou’s donation was the largest the university has ever received and that he is confident the cancer center will be completed on schedule.
Gou said two-thirds of the center is already completed and that funding is not a problem if there is the need for more to help cancer patients.
“We hope to recruit masters in treating cancer or other diseases to come and join [the cancer center], because we are determined to uphold our goal of becoming one of the best cancer hospitals in the world,” Gou said.
He said that while many doctors left oncology due to a lack of funding, he hopes to attract doctors to the cancer center who want to practice their expertise and contribute to improving health.
NTU said that the cancer center would have 15 stories above ground and four below — including a stem cell treatment center, preventive medicine center, outpatient department and research laboratories.
The goal is to create an advanced bio-medical science and technology park at the NTU campus.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it