■SARS
Woman gives birth
A woman suspected of having contracted SARS gave birth to a baby boy without complications at Armed Forces Sungshan Hospital in Taipei yesterday. Doctors at the SARS-only hospital said the woman, surnamed Lee, who had been listed as a suspected SARS case because her lungs had signs of opacity, delivered the 2.9kg baby at 1: 30am. "Both the mother and the infant are in good condition," said Huang Fang-yen, chief coordinator of the hospital's SARS treatment operations. Huang said Lee is staying in a quarantine ward while the baby is being kept in an incubator. Both facilities have been equipped with negative pressure ventilation systems. According to Huang, Lee is the first suspected SARS case to have given birth in Taiwan. "There is also no known similar case reported in other parts of the world. We are keeping close tabs on their health conditions," he added.
■ SARS
Thermometers requisitioned
The Ministry of Economic Affairs will requisition ear thermometers from the private sector in support of a national temperature-taking campaign aimed at fighting the spread of SARS, an official said yesterday. The decision was made to support a 10-day nationwide temperature-taking campaign to be launched Sunday during a ministry meeting attended by officials in charge of SARS-related medical resources, the official said. The official added that 24,800 ear thermometers and 80,000 surgical masks will be requisitioned and delivered to all township and borough chiefs' offices around the nation before tomorrow. The MOEA's move followed its announcement Wednesday that exports of thermometers will be suspended from Wednesday until June 10 to ensure an adequate supply of thermometers for domestic use.
■ Foreign aid
Twister victims get help
Taiwan has donated US$50,000 in relief funds for the victims of tornadoes that devastated some areas of Tennessee earlier this month. The donation was presented May 21 by T. C. Tien, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta, and was accepted by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Taiwan and Tennessee established "sister state" relations in 1980. Tien said during a brief meeting with Bredesen that the donation is a token of love for the people of Tennessee.
■ Culture
German works to arrive
The National Palace Museum in Taipei will display 19th-century German masterpieces from five museums in Berlin next year as part of a reciprocal agreement. Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝), director of the National Palace Museum, and Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, signed an agreement Wednesday at the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) in Berlin to co-sponsor the exhibition. From May 1 to Aug. 1 next year, five museums in Berlin will lend 180 works including paintings, drawings, prints and articles of skilled craftsmanship featuring classicism and neomodernism in 19th-century Germany. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lehmann said that starting July 18, 400 masterpieces of ancient Chinese art from the National Palace Museum will be on display in Germany. Titled "Treasures of the Sons of Heaven: The Imperial Collection from the National Palace Museum, Taipei."
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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