Michael Lai (賴明詔), a noted US-based coronavirus expert who has assisted in Taiwan's campaign against SARS, is scheduled to assume the post of vice president of Academia Sinica today.
Lai, 61, a Taiwan-born professor at the University of Southern California who concurrently heads a World Health Organization (WHO) coronavirus research team, is replacing Sunney Chan (
Lai, who has dedicated himself to coronavirus research for some 30 years, is known worldwide as "the father of coronavirus research." Currently a professor with the University of Southern California, Medical Branch, Lai's books have been used as major textbooks on the coronavirus in most medical schools in the US.
Graduated from National Taiwan University, Lai obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, with majors in virology and molecular biology.
As the coronavirus is the pathogen that causes SARS, Lai returned to Taiwan in early May to investigate the outbreaks of the pneumonia-like disease that sickened more than 8,000 people worldwide and has claimed 810 lives. Taiwan has been gripped by the mysterious, contagious disease since mid-March.
During his stay, Lai cooperated with an Academia Sinica SARS research team in developing vaccines and drugs for SARS patients.
Lai said shortly after his arrival in Taipei that there is no effective cure or preventive measures for SARS at the moment.
"Quarantine is the only way to contain its spread right now, " he said.
After assuming his post as vice president of Academia Sinica, Lai is expected to head, supervise and coordinate the institute's genosome and life sciences research.
Academia Sinica, headed by Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), will host a news conference July 23 to formally introduce Lai to the country.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
RSS