When Taipei City Bureau of Health (BOH) Director Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) was scolded yesterday by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), one of her major backers, yesterday, it marked her lowest point in the battle against SARS.
"I have already reprimanded Chiou and asked her to improve supervision," Ma said during the press conference yesterday regarding the administrative error made by bureau Secretary-General Hsiao Tung-ming (
This was the first time ever Ma expressed dissatisfaction in public toward Chiou's performance as the city's anti-SARS commander.
Meanwhile, anti-SARS expert Professor Yeh Chin-chuan also rebuked Chiou two days ago. Yeh is Chiou's predecessor, and it was he who originally recommended her for the directorship.
"Punish those who should be punished, and it's only right to do it quickly," Yeh said to Chiou.
The show of disapproval by a host of top guns may indicate that Chiou's status as Ma's star pupil has started to crumble.
Just two weeks earlier when Chiou handed in her resignation, Ma firmly asked her to stay, and shielded her from the media's and the city council's fierce attacks.
But now, especially after both the heads of the Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control were sacked and new directors installed, Ma finally seems to have stretched his protective wings too wide, and he may not be able or willing to shelter Chiou anymore.
While internal rifts appear to be forming, Chiou has long been criticized by the media.
The media's discontent rose to a new height on the same day Yeh let loose his temper, and almost all major papers trimmed Chiou's coattails yesterday.
First there was the strong contrast between the severe punishment of certificate revoking for the head of Jen Chi Hospital Liao Cheng-hsiung (
Although the Taipei City Government insisted that the decisions regarding how a doctor should be punished were made by an independent doctor's disciplinary board, no one really bought it.
Taipei City Government has been fairly quick and resolute to dish out fines and other forms of punishment to Jen Chi Hospital, which is privately owned, and Taipei Municipal Gandau Hospital, which is administered by Taipei Veterans General Hospital instead of the BOH.
On the other hand, when it came to any neglagence at the bureau's own Hoping, the government expressed hesitance to tread upon the subject.
Then there was the matter of Chiou's reluctance to deal with Hsiao's faults, and the fact of Chiou missing out on Hoping's punishment notice.
During the press conference, even a reporter who was known to be a Ma administration supporter lost her patience with what she perceives as Chiou's unpersuasive answers. She lashed out at Chiou, questioning Chiou with ferocity matching an opposing city councilor.
Last week Chiou also enraged another reporter from a major newspaper by declaring publicly the SARS chronicle printed by the paper was full of mistakes without being able to identify even one single error.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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