Less than a week ahead of the presidential inauguration, five snakes were found at Tainan's Chi Mei Medical Center, the hospital that treated President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) after the shooting on the eve of the presidential elections. \nAccording to a public relations officer at the hospital, the snakes were found at roughly 5:30pm on Monday, when a patient had spotted them in a third floor bathroom. \nThe hospital said that the snakes were not poisonous. \nA total of five snakes were found in the hospital with three in the third floor bathroom, one by an emergency exit on the seventh floor, and one on a tenth floor skywalk connecting two hospital buildings. One of the snakes on the third floor was dead; the other four were alive when discovered. \nWhile Chi Mei hospital officials suspect that the case could be just a prank, the events have been reported to the police for further investigation. However, hospital officials pointed out that it would be difficult to draw a connection between the placement of the snakes and the March 19 shooting of Chen and Vice President Vice President Anette Lu (呂秀蓮). \nAs soon as the hospital management learned that snakes had been placed in three different locations throughout hospital buildings, the fire department had been called to deal with the snakes. \nThe hospital also said that while security cameras had been installed near the hospital's main entrances, none had been placed around emergency exits or the skywalk. As such, no footage of the placement of the snakes had been found. \nIn addition, security precautions have been heightened at the hospital in light of the discovery of the snakes in public areas.
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with countries that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported
Taiwan would have established formal relations with Argentina long ago if not for China’s interference, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui told US-based Spanish-language online news outlet Infobae in an interview published on Tuesday. Beijing has left behind a string of unfulfilled promises in Latin America, including pledges to build the Grand Nicaragua Canal and airports, docks, ports and industrial zones in El Salvador, he said. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and other countries enjoy pragmatic and improving relations with Taiwan based on cooperation on the economy, culture, technology and science, he said. While Taiwan is “happy to live and let live,”
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