TARGETED RESEARCH: Some methods of chemotherapy can have adverse effects on Asians, which led researchers at the NHRI to focus on a regimen geared toward Asians

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 01, 2020
By:. Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has developed a combination chemotherapy regimen to treat pancreatic cancer that reduces the side effects and extends survival to nearly a year, it said yesterday.

An institute research team’s phase 1 and 2 clinical trials on a chemotherapy regimen of S-1, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and gemcitabine (SLOG) showed promising efficacy and safety in treating patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), National Institute of Cancer Research associate investigator Chiang Nai-jung (姜乃榕) said.

PDAC is a highly fatal disease, and as pancreatic cancers often do not show symptoms early in their onset, they are often only detected after they have grown large or spread outside the pancreas, meaning that 80 to 85 percent of patients are in the advanced stages of the disease at their time of diagnosis, Chiang said.

The overall five-year survival rate of PDAC is lower than 5 percent, and systemic chemotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 30 November, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

Once a week every 12 years, Puli Township goes vegetarian![/caption] Hundred-year traditions are hard to come by in any family, but what happens when it involves an entire town? Puli Township goes vegetarian for one week every twelve years. Why? Religion. 

Every 12 years, Puli Township in Central Taiwan’s Nantou County comes together and goes vegetarian for a week. You won’t find any meat at any food stalls, and you won’t be able to satisfy your carnivorous cravings by purchasing it at a market — either super or traditional. Why the move away from meat? Religion. This week-long town-wide veggie-binge is part of a hundred-year tradition. When something is that integrated into a local culture, enterprise can’t possibly beat out a one-hundred year heritage, right?     [FULL  STORY]

Straits Times
Date: Decn 01, 2020
By: Katherine Wei, Taiwan Correspondent

TAIPEI – Starting on Tuesday (Dec 1), all travellers entering Taiwan are required to present negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results.

The test must be taken within three days of departure from the place of origin.

Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) announced the new policy on Nov 18. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung cited the upcoming holiday season and influx of returning Taiwanese as the reasons for the change.

Imported infections have risen since October due to an increase in the number of Taiwanese returning to the island as other parts of the world reel from second and third waves of Covid-19 cases.    [FULL  STORY]

Chiu, 32, had a love of stray animals

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/30
By:. George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An animal lover living in Tainan was killed in a car accident while on his way back from rescuing an injured cat in a mountainous area.

The Tainan City Government Fire Bureau at around 1 a.m. on Monday (Nov. 30) received calls of a car on fire near a bridge on the Yujing District section of Provincial Highway 3. After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered the body of the driver trapped inside the wreckage, according to CNA.

Tainan Police Department’s Yujing Precinct said that the deceased, surnamed Chiu (邱), had lived in the city’s Annan District. Chiu, 32, had a strong passion for stray animals.

On Sunday night, he allegedly learned about an injured stray cat in a mountainous area of Nanxi District that needed help, so he drove out and retrieved the cat in order to take it to an animal hospital downtown. However, as Chiu was driving near Jhuwei Bridge, he failed to make a left turn and crashed into the bridge railing.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/30/28020
By: Liu Kuan-ting, Yu Hsiang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's culture minister has denied that a controversial proposal to downgrade the world-famous National Palace Museum's (NPM) status as a Cabinet-level body was being made for political reasons.

"The NPM became a Cabinet-level body because of political considerations. Now [the move] would be based on professional considerations," Culture Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得) told reporters at the Legislative Yuan on Monday.

"The NPM is run based on professionalism. Its administrative level is not an important factor" in deciding the museum's status, Lee said.

Reports last week indicated that the Executive Yuan, which runs the government, has drafted an organizational reform plan under which the NPM could be downgraded from an independent "2nd-tier" Cabinet-level body to a "3rd-tier" body under the Ministry of Culture.   [FULL  STORY]

• The island plans to construct eight vessels – a figure dwarfed by China’s current fleet of 60 subs
• Supporters of the project say they can still help stop invasion from the Chinese mainland under the asymmetric warfare strategy

South China Morning Post
Date: 29 Nov, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung

Taiwan has started work on its first indigenous submarine as it seeks to overhaul its ageing fleet – but some sceptics have questioned whether it will bring any benefits given mainland China’s overwhelming strength in numbers.

But some analysts say that no matter how big the People’s Liberation Army’s submarine fleet is, the self-ruled island needs the eight subs it is planning to build as part of its asymmetric warfare strategy to defend against any attack.

Taiwan’s CSBC Shipbuilding was awarded the NT$49.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) contract to build the first submarine after Taiwan was unable to find a foreign supplier.

Beijing has repeatedly warned other countries not to sell arms to Taiwan, which it considers to be part of its territory to be brought back under mainland control – by force if necessary.
[FULL  STORY]

TopHotel.news
Date: 29 Nov 2020
By: Sorcha O'Higgins

The newly opened Moxy Taichung, which boasts 262 keys and a lively rooftop bar, is one of Taiwan’s most exciting hotel developments in years.

Marriott International’s lifestyle brand Moxy has brought a burst of energy to Taiwan’s west coast. Its dynamic new property marks the latest stage in the hospitality giant’s rapid growth across the APAC region.

Moxy makes its mark on Taiwan

Located in the city of Taichung, Moxy’s inaugural hotel in Taiwan is already turning plenty of heads.

Jennie Toh, vice president of brand in Asia Pacific for Marriott International, said: “Across the Asia Pacific region and the world, the strong growth of our playful Moxy brand is proof that its brand philosophy resonates with millennial and next-gen guests, who seek a hotel stay at an affordable price point, saving on space and splurging on experiences. We are excited to be bringing the Moxy brand to Taiwan with the opening of Moxy Taichung, and to welcome travellers to the Moxy experience in this dynamic, future-forward city.”    [FULL  STORY]

A review of 'Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s Plan to 'Win Without Fighting'' by Kerry K. Gershaneck

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/28
By: William Stanton , Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

Many of the strongest American voices warning about the threats the People’s Republic of China (PRC) pose to the world are current and former U.S. military officers.

They have also been among the most stalwart supporters of Taiwan. Many years of military exposure to the very real dangers Taiwan, the United States, and other countries face from the PRC’s increasingly aggressive behavior sharpens minds and instills strong concerns.

A prime example is Kerry K. Gershaneck, a former Marine officer who has worked for the past three years as a visiting professor (Taiwan Fellow) at National Chengchi University. Gershaneck is a friend of mine and has written an important book, "Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s Plan to 'Win Without Fighting.' It is published by the Marine Corps University Press.

"Political Warfare" offers a carefully researched assessment of the PRC threat to win without war, and the political strategies and tactics to do so. The book is based not only on open sources and interviews, but also on Gershaneck’s 35 years of experience, in the military and as an academic, working on national intelligence, counterintelligence, and international relations, both in the U.S. and many countries overseas.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/29/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Three Indonesian women who came to Taiwan to work have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases in the country to 651 since the pandemic began late last year, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Sunday.

Two of the women, in their 30s and 40s, arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 14 on the same flight and showed no symptoms upon entering the country, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said at a press briefing in Taipei.

They were tested for COVID-19 on Nov. 27 upon completion of their mandatory 14-day quarantine and their results came back positive on Sunday.

The other Indonesian woman, in her 20s, also arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 14, and had a temporary loss of smell but no other symptoms, so she did not immediately report her symptoms.
[FULL  STORY]