SPORTS
Council mulls options
The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) yesterday said it had collected all the evidence on the disqualification of taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, last month and would look at various scenarios before choosing the proper course of action. “We will fight for the scenario that is most advantageous to us,” the council said in a statement. The statement came after media reported that the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was preparing to handle Yang’s disqualification and her refusal to leave the ring afterward, which delayed other bouts, as separate matters. The WTF could punish Yang and her coach for the latter, and the possible rulings could include barring Yang and her coach from participating in international competition, the reports said. The council said the Chinese Taipei Taekwondo Association had until tomorrow to submit a written report about Yang’s case.
CULTURE
TEDxMonga holds conference
TEDxMonga will hold its first conference at National Taiwan University today, featuring more than a dozen talks and presentations from Taiwan-based artists, educators, scientists and businesspeople. The non-profit organization, whose role is to promote “ideas worth spreading,” is teaming up with local, self-organized events to invite local speakers to share their experiences. TEDxMonga’s event theme is “Make It Real” and aims to put the spotlight on Taiwan’s successes and innovations in fields ranging from architecture and animation to science and entrepreneurship.
EDUCATION
Food draws foreign students
Taiwan’s fruit and its food have become major attractions for Japanese students in Taiwan, a student delegation from Japan that visited the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The 24-member student group from Japan’s Fukuoka Girls’ High School arrived in Taiwan on Monday and attended a presentation introducing the Taiwanese education system that was held by the ministry’s Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations. One of the students, Yamauchi Rikako, expressed her interest in studying in Taiwan and said Taiwan’s fruit is well known in Japan and that her motivation for visiting was to sample the food and experience the culture. Bureau Director Lin Wen-tong (林文通) said that every year, Taiwan invites groups of high school students from Japan to get a taste of local school life and help improve their understanding of the country.
HEALTH
Mad cow disease kills man
A Taiwanese man who spent eight years in the UK before returning home died earlier this year from what appeared to be mad cow disease, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The man, who was in the UK from 1978 to 1986, died in May at the age of 36. In 2008, he began to show symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) such as memory loss and hypersomnia, and was reported as a suspected CJD case in March last year, the CDC said. However, the man’s family refused to provide tissue for testing or to give permission for an autopsy, making it difficult to confirm the cause of his death, CDC Deputy Director Lin Ting (林頂) said. “We cannot exclude this as a CJD case either,” Lin said. Based on the patient’s symptoms and his MRI and EEG records, a medical team has determined this was an “extremely likely case” of CJD, the CDC said in a press release.
HEALTH
NSC, institute sign MOU
The National Science Council (NSC) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on cancer research with Canada’s Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI). The agreement was signed by council Minister Lee Lou-chuang (李羅權) and the institute’s scientific director, Victor Lin. Taiwanese Representative to Canada David Lee (李大維), who was also present at the ceremony, said the institute had contributed considerably to cancer research through its sponsorship program and Taiwan hoped to contribute to enhancing human health through the cooperation. The institute, launched in 2007, is the brainchild of the Terry Fox Foundation, which supports cancer research through the annual Terry Fox Run fundraising campaign. Lin, who is also a researcher at Academia Sinica, said the institute mainly works in collaboration with cancer hospitals and research organizations. The Terry Fox Foundation has committed a minimum of C$50 million (US$49.42 million) over five years to support the work of the institute, Lin said.
WEATHER
Cold front lingers on
The nation remained under the influence of a cold front yesterday, with temperatures dropping as low as 9.4°C in Tamsui, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The cold front sent the mercury falling to its lowest level in the country since temperatures began to cool. The bureau said temperatures ranged between 11°C and 21°C yesterday, and the skies over most parts of the country would remain clear because of the dry air brought by the cold front. The cold weather is expected to last until tomorrow, the bureau said. Meanwhile, on Yushan (玉山), temperatures fell as low
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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