■ Health
Lost dentures recovered
A 45-year-old man was breathing easier yesterday, after a surgeon removed a missing dental bridge from one of his bronchial tubes -- three years after he lost them in a fall. Dr. Chen Chun-lei said the man went to his clinic several days ago complaining of shortness of breath and a high fever and was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia. Chen operated after an unknown object was seen in one of the bronchial tubes in an X-ray. "He had looked for the missing dentures for three years but they were nowhere to be found," Chen said. Chen said the man had not suffered serious breathing problems earlier, possibly because the denture of eight teeth did not entirely block the bronchial tube. The doctor said the man could have ended up losing part of a lung if the denture had not been discovered before a serious injury occurred.
■ Weather
CWB watching Matsa
Eastern Taiwan could begin to feel the approach of Tropical Storm Matsa tonight. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the center of Matsa was around 1,600km southeastern of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and it was moving north-northwest at 8kph. Forecasters were unsure, however, if Matsa would directly hit Taiwan. "We are keeping our eyes on it. If Matsa moves north, then the weather in Taiwan might only be affected by peripheral currents," said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the forecast center. Forecasters said boats sailing off eastern Taiwan should be on alert for huge waves tonight. On Thursday and Friday, the weather in the north and northeast of the country might be affected by the storm's approach.
■ Politics
New caucus whips installed
The dust has finally settled in a fight among the People First Party's (PFP) caucus leaders as Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) took office as head caucus whip. Hwang had tied with Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) in voting. Hwang was favored by the PFP headquarters, while Lin was the choice of the caucus itself. Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) and Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官) will serve as the caucus' other two leaders in the next legislative session, scheduled to begin on Sept. 13. The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) new caucus whips also took office yesterday. They are Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) and John Wu (吳志揚). The Taiwan Solidarity Union's new caucus leaders, who took office in June, are Mark Ho (何敏豪), David Huang (黃適卓), George Liu (劉寬平) and Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇). The Democratic Progressive Party's won't change its caucus whips until the end of the next legislative session.
■ Environment
Biomass contest announced
The Council of Agriculture yesterday urged young scientists and students to come up with ideas to turn rice straw into usable sources of biomass energy. The council and the Yuan T. Lee Science Education For All (遠哲科學教育基金會) are sponsoring a competition and the top price is NT$200,000 (US$6,276). Rice paddies cover 260,000 hectares of land in Taiwan. Rice straw has traditionally been used for compost or fuel. Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday that the abuse of fossil fuels has hurt the environment and it was time for youngsters to rethink sources of energy. More information on the competition available at www.ytlee.org.tw.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
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,
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