EDUCATION
Taipei launches AI course
Taipei’s Department of Education yesterday announced the launch of a cloud-based programming course created with the assistance of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). The course incorporates an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted learning system developed by UPenn with a Python course taught by Kung Ling-chieh (孔令傑), an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s College of Management, the department said. The AI-assisted coding course would reach more than 1,100 students from 14 high schools in Taipei that have joined the city’s cloud-based learning and teaching platform, the department said. High-school students who complete the course and its supplementary assignments and tests would receive a certificate jointly issued by the city’s education department and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), it said. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Arend Zwartjes, the AIT’s public affairs officer, attended yesterday’s public launch. Chiang said he hoped the course would bolster students’ competitiveness in the age of AI and pledged that the city would continue to improve information technology education.
Photo: CNA
WEATHER
Cardiac deaths rise in cold
Two continental cold air masses have swept Taiwan since New Year’s Day, during which 437 nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) deaths were reported as of Friday, with an emergency physician warning that the cold weather could increase health risks for people with chronic diseases. From Jan. 1 to Friday last week, a total of 437 nontraumatic, internal medicine-related OHCA deaths were recorded, including 54 on Friday, statistics from the National Fire Agency showed. National Taiwan University Hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine acting director Chang Wei-tien (張維典) said that cold temperatures or drastic weather changes often result in a rise in cardiovascular emergencies. Although patients are admitted to the emergency department at all hours, clinical experience has shown that the most severe cases tend to occur in the early morning, when temperatures are lowest, he said. Chang urged people with cardiovascular diseases or risk factors, particularly older adults, to take extra precautions during the early hours of the day.
DIPLOMACY
Minister to visit Palau
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would represent Taiwan at Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr’s inauguration on Thursday, a diplomatic source said yesterday. Lin would lead Taiwan’s delegation on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) to congratulate Whipps on winning a second term in office, the unnamed source said. The foreign minister would be joined by a business and trade delegation headed by Lee Hsien-yi (李賢義), chair of the state-owned Taiwan International Ports Corp, the source added. The business and trade delegation would also include representatives from Chunghwa Telecom, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, the Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association and the government-funded Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund. Palau is one of 12 states that maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei instead of Beijing. Whipps has been supportive of Taiwan since he first took office in 2021 and has repeatedly accused China of pressuring Palau to switch sides by weaponizing tourism.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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