HEALTH
Hospital inks BioNTech MOU
Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with German biotech firm BioNTech on cooperation in the development of precision medicines for cancer treatment. Under the MOU signed in Taipei, BioNTech would establish a clinical trial facility in Taiwan to conduct research and development into new medications and biomedical technologies, the hospital said in a statement. The partnership would provide patients who have advanced and refractory cancers with access to early trials of new drugs and therapies being developed at no cost, it said. BioNTech in December last year announced plans for a clinical trial hub in Taiwan for mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies as the company expands its clinical footprint in the region.
EDUCATION
Nine injured in NTU lab fire
Two students were burned and seven others suffered inhalation injuries yesterday after a fire broke out at a National Taiwan University (NTU) chemistry laboratory. All nine were sent to nearby hospitals for medical treatment, the Taipei Fire Department said. The likely cause of the fire was an explosion triggered by contact between aluminum chloride and hot oils during an experiment at the Chemical Engineering Department, the fire department said. After the blaze was reported at 11:51am, 19 fire trucks, five ambulances and 84 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, the department said. It said the cause of the fire, which was brought under control by 12:25pm, was still being investigated.
WEATHER
Flood warnings issued
A lingering low-pressure system brought heavy downpours to Kaohsiung early yesterday morning, prompting flood warnings in Niaosong (鳥松) and Renwu (仁武) districts. Beginning at 4am, a thunderstorm accompanied by lightning lashed Kaohsiung and brought torrential rain to much of the city, the Kaohsiung City Government said. As of 5pm, Sanmin District (三民) had recorded the nation’s highest total rainfall for the day, with 135 mm, Central Weather Bureau data showed. Due to the effects of the low-pressure system, the bureau issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for Kaohsiung and Pingtung, while a heavy rain alert was issued for Tainan. An extremely heavy rain advisory refers to accumulated rainfall of more than 200mm a day, or more than 100mm within three hours, while a heavy rain advisory warns of 80mm of accumulated rainfall in a day or 40mm in an hour.
ESPIONAGE
Field officer detained
One more field officer was detained and held incommunicado on Wednesday by prosecutors on suspicion of spying for China, after a retired air force captain and six active military officers were indicted in the same espionage case earlier this year. The detainee, surnamed Cheng (鄭), was accused of providing confidential information to a retired captain surnamed Liu (劉), the High Court said. Liu and six alleged accomplices in April were charged with contravening the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法). Liu began doing business in China after retiring from the air force in 2013. He was then allegedly recruited by China to serve as a spy, prosecutors said. They allege that Liu recruited at least six military officers into his spy ring and received “rewards” of NT$200,000 to NT$700,000 through a shell company he established.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
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