■Health
Be vigilant against SARS
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday he is pleased to see the World Trade Organization (WHO) lift its travel warning against Taiwan over SARS concerns. Nevertheless, Chen reminded the public that continued vigilance is needed to avoid a resurgence of the potentially deadly disease. "We should not be complacent at this time. We should not let down our guard. We should continue precautions to have our nation moved from the WHO's list of areas with local SARS transmissions as early as possible," Chen said.
■ Science
Taiwan's design wins silver
A delegation of theater technicians from Taiwan won a silver medal at the 10th International Exhibition of Stenography and Theater Architecture that took place in the Czech Republic capital of Prague from June 7 to 11. Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Minister of Culture Pavel Dostal attended the opening ceremony of the event, one of the most prestigious international exhibits of theater design. Dostal also visited the Taiwan Pavilion and gave a thumbs up to the design submitted by the Taiwanese artists. Organized by the Czech Theater Institute with the support of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the exhibition has been held every four years for more than 30 years.
■ Travel
UK lifts Taiwan advisory
Britain has removed a travel advisory to Taiwan following the World Health Organization (WHO) decision to lift its advisory. A notice of the lifting has been posted on the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office Web site reads. The British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) in Taipei has advised British citizens in Taiwan to continue to avoid visiting hospitals, where the vast majority of SARS infections in this country have occurred. The office also said that it was "business as usual" for visitors to the UK from Taiwan.
■ Education
Nursing schools worried
The Department of Technological and Vocational Education is considering allowing colleges of nursing to hold a second student enrollment in September, should the number of registrants fail to meet the target, a Ministry of Education official said yesterday. The official said that since the outbreak of SARS, many medical personnel, especially nurses in particular, have become victims of the disease. The official said that presidents of several junior colleges of nursing have expressed their anxieties that the epidemic may have discouraged youngsters from a nursing career, thus causing a decline of new registrants.
■ Education
Taiwan signs deal with LSE
Taiwan is to assist the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in strengthening its research on Taiwan-related subjects under a new five-year cooperative program. Representative to the UK Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) signed the cooperative agreement with LSE president Tony Giddens on Tuesday on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the terms of the agreement, Taiwan will help the school establish a Chinese-language social sciences databank and the two sides will organize academic forums and scholar exchanges. Hundreds of Chinese books donated by Taiwan have been shipped to London.
Agencies
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
SECURITY RISK: A university student sent a general alarm signal to THSRC’s control center on April 5, causing four operating trains to temporarily halt services The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday pledged to submit a report on ways to harden the communication security of railway systems after a university student hacked into Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) radio communications system and disrupted operations of four high-speed rail trains last month. Investigation by the police and prosecutors found that the university student and radio enthusiast, surnamed Lin (林), first used a software-defined radio (SDR) filter to analyze THSRC signals, downloaded the data to a computer, cracked the parameters and then programmed the codes into his radio devices. Lin then sent a general alarm signal to
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