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
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
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