Academia Sinica yesterday hailed the election of three Taiwanese scientists, including its president, James Liao (廖俊智), to The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), but said it would require the academy to correct its documents, which refer to the nation as “Taiwan, China.”
A global science academy based in Trieste, Italy, TWAS has more than 1,200 members. On Tuesday last week, it announced a list of 36 newly elected fellows, which is to take effect next month.
Liao was recognized for using metabolic engineering, synthetic biology and systems biology to construct microorganisms to produce next-generation biofuels and to study the obesity problem in humans, TWAS said.
Photo courtesy of Academia Sinica
Also an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering, Liao on Dec. 3 received the Novozymes Award for Excellence in Biochemical and Chemical Engineering in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Chung Bon-chu (鍾邦柱), a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Molecular Biology, was honored for her elucidation of the regulation of steroids and delineation of steroidogenic pathways in zebrafish, TWAS said, adding that her work helped “opened new research directions.”
Lu Chih-yuan (盧志遠), president of Macronix (旺宏電子) and chairman of Ardentec Corp (欣銓科技), is a distinguished chair professor for research at National Taiwan University’s Department of Physics and was elected an academician of Academia Sinica last year.
Lu has made outstanding technical contributions in semiconductor device physics, silicon integrated circuit processes development and integration technologies, and is described as “an innovative high-tech entrepreneur and outstanding industrial leader in [the] semiconductor industry” by TWAS.
Being elected into the academy not only demonstrates the personal achievements of academics, but also reflects their home countries’ efforts in promoting science, Academia Sinica said.
However, the three scientists are listed as being from “Taiwan, China” on the TWAS Web site.
Academia Sinica quoted Liao as saying that it would write to the academy to ask it to correct the name of the country.
The three scientists are to be awarded new memberships at TWAS’ general meeting in November next year, Academia Sinica added.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS