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.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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