Formosan Association for Public Affairs 552 7th Street. SE. Washington, DC 20003, USA | |
For Immediate Release Washington D C - March 29th 2013 Contact: (202) 547-3686
FAPA urges US government to protest China’s continued restriction of Taiwan’s international space President Ma’s ‘diplomatic truce’ not working
(Washington, D.C. – March 29th 2013) -- Today, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) – a Washington-based Taiwanese-American grassroots advocacy organization – expressed its concern about two recent events showing that China is still attempting to deny Taiwan international space.
The two events were the Chinese reaction to President Ma’s trip to Rome to attend the inauguration of Pope Francis, and the decision by the Indonesian government in Jakarta to deny a delegation from Taiwan access to an international defense conference after objections from China.
In the case of Taiwan President Ma’s trip to Rome, the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized both Taiwan and the Vatican over the visit. In a press briefing on March 18th 2013, PRC spokeswoman Hua Chun-ying urged the Vatican to “dissolve ties with Taiwan.”
In the case of the Jakarta International Defense Dialogue (JIDD), a four-person Taiwanese delegation was forced to withdraw from attending the conference, when the Indonesian authorities disinvited the delegation after China raised objections to Taiwan’s presence at the conference.
In response to the developments, FAPA President Mark Kao states: “China’s continued efforts to undermine Taiwan’s presence at such international events do clearly show that President Ma’s “diplomatic truce” is not working. Worse, it shows that promises of a “rapprochement” across the Taiwan Strait is leading to diminished international space for Taiwan.”
Dr. Kao adds: “China’s moves are also in clear contradiction to stated US policy, which says that the US supports meaningful participation by Taiwan in international organizations. We call on the US government to protest China’s attempts to restrict Taiwan’s international space. Taiwan should be a full and equal member in the international family of nations.”
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台灣人公共事務會呼籲美國政府對於中國一再打壓台灣國際空間一事表達抗議 馬總統的「外交休兵」政策無效
台灣人公共事務會今天針對近來中國打壓台灣國際空間的兩個事件表示憂心。
其一事件為中國對於馬英九總統前往教廷參加教宗方濟各就任式一事的反應；另則為印尼政府在遭受中國抗議施壓後，拒絕讓台灣代表團參加「雅加達國際防務對話」一事。
中國外交部針對馬總統訪教廷一事抨擊台灣及教廷雙方。在三月十八日的一場記者會中，中國外交部發言人華春瑩呼籲教廷「必須終止對台關係」。 在「雅加達國際防務對話」一事中，在中國抗議台灣的出席後，印尼政府隨即取消對台灣的邀請，並要求出席的四位台灣代表離席。
台灣人公共事務會會長高龍榮博士表示：「中國對台灣的國際空間一再打壓，顯示馬總統的『外交休兵』政策並未奏效。這些跡象顯示兩岸友好的保證反而將導致台灣的國際空間更形壓縮。」
高博士並說道：「中國的行為顯然也與美國支持台灣有意義參與國際組織的政策背道而馳。我們呼籲美國政府對於中國打壓台灣國際空間一事表達抗議。台灣應該是國際社會中的一分子。」
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2013年3月29日 星期五
FAPA呼籲美國政府對於中國一再打壓台灣國際空間一事表達抗議
2013年3月25日 星期一
有關腦的很多誤解! Misconceptions about brain!!
Brain matter
Throughout
history, the human brain has been remarkably good at dismissing itself.
Everyone from ancient Egyptians to Aristotle has downplayed the role of the
mysterious stuff between our ears. Famed anatomist Galen gave the brain credit
as commander of movement and speech, but even he brushed aside the white and
gray matter, figuring the fluid-filled ventricles inside the brain did most of
the work.
Human brains
are big...
The average
adult brain weighs just under 3 pounds (between 1.3 and 1.4 kilograms). Some
neurosurgeons describe the texture of a living brain
as that of toothpaste, but according to neurosurgeon Katrina Firlik, a better
analogy can be found in the local health-food store.
"[The
brain] doesn't spread like toothpaste. It doesn't adhere to your fingers the
way toothpaste does," Firlik writes in her memoir, "Another Day in
the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside" (Random
House, 2006). "Tofu — the soft variety, if you know tofu — may be a more
accurate comparison."
If you aren't
charmed by that description, consider this: About 80 percent of the contents of
your cranium is brain, while equal amounts of blood and cerebrospinal fluid,
the clear liquid that buffers neural tissue, make up the rest. If you were to
blend up all of that brain, blood and fluid, it would come to about 1.7 liters,
or not quite enough to fill a 2-liter soda bottle.
Credit:
Dreamstime.
...But they're
getting smaller
Don't get too
cocky about your soda-bottle-sized brain. Humans 5,000 years ago had brains
that were even larger.
"We do
know from archaeological data that pretty much everywhere we can measure —
Europe, China, South Africa, Australia — that brains have shrunk about 9 cubic inches (150
cubic centimeters), from an average of about 82 in3 (1,350 cm3).
That's roughly 10 percent," University of Wisconsin at Madison
paleoanthropologist John Hawks told LiveScience in 2009.
Researchers
don't know why brains might be shrinking, but some theorize that they're
evolving to be more efficient. Others think our skulls are getting smaller
because our diets include more easily chewable foods and so large, strong jaws
are no longer required.
Whatever the
reason, brain size doesn't directly correlate with
intellect, so there's no evidence that ancient man was brainier than humans of
today.
Our brains burn
through energy
The modern
brain is an energy hog. The organ accounts for about 2 percent of body weight,
but it uses about 20 percent of the oxygen in our blood and 25 percent of the
glucose (sugars) circulating in our bloodstream, according to the American
College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
These energy
requirements have spurred a debate among anthropologists about what fueled the evolution of big brains in the first place. Many
researchers credit meat, citing evidence of hunting in our early ancestors. But
meat would have been an unreliable food source, say other scientists. A 2007
study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found
that modern-day chimps know how to dig for calorie-rich tubers on the savanna.
Perhaps our ancestors did the same, boosting their brainpower with veggies.
As for what
motivated the brain to balloon in size, there are three major hypotheses:
climate change, the demands of ecology, and social competition.
Wrinkles make
us smart
What's the
secret to our species' smarts? The answer may be wrinkles. The surface of the
human brain is convoluted by deep fissures, smaller grooves called sulci, and
ridges called gyri. This surface is called the cerebral cortex and is home to
about 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells.
The folded,
meandering surface allows the brain to pack in more surface area — and thus,
more processing power — into the limited confines of the skull. Our primate relatives show varying degrees of
convolution in their brains, as do other intelligent creatures like elephants.
In fact, research done by Emory University neuroscientist Lori Marino has found
that dolphins have even more pronounced brain wrinkles than humans.
Most of our
brain cells aren't neurons
The old saw
that we use just 10 percent of our brainpower isn't true, but we now know that
neurons make up just 10 percent of our brain cells.
The other 90
percent, which account for about half the brain's weight, are called glia,
which means "glue" in Greek. Neuroscientists used to think glia were
simply the sticky stuff that holds neurons together. But recent research has
shown glia to be much more. A 2005 paper in the journal Current Opinions in
Neurobiology laid out the roles of these unsung cells, which range from mopping
up excess neurotransmitters to providing immune protection to actually promoting
and modulating synapse growth and function. (Synapses are the connections between neurons.) It turns out the
silent majority isn't so silent after all.
The brain is an
exclusive club
Like bouncers
at a night club, an assembly of cells in the brain's blood system, called the
blood-brain barrier, lets only a few molecules into the nervous system's inner
sanctum – the brain. The capillaries that feed the brain are lined with tightly
bound cells, which keep out large molecules. Special proteins in the barrier
transport necessary nutrients and substances into the brain. Only an elite few
make it through.
The blood-brain
barrier protects the brain, but it can also keep out lifesaving medications.
Physicians trying to treat brain tumors can use drugs to open the junctions
between cells, but that leaves the brain temporarily vulnerable to infection.
One new way to sneak meds past the barrier might be nanotechnology. A 2009
study published in the journal Cancer Research showed that specially-engineered
nanoparticles can cross the barrier and attach to tumor tissue. In the future,
combining nanoparticles with chemotherapy drugs could be one way to target
tumors.
The brain
starts as a tube
The foundation
for the brain is set early. Three weeks after conception, a sheet of embryonic
cells called the neural plate folds and fuses into the neural tube. This tissue
will become the central nervous system.
The neural tube
grows and differentiates throughout the first trimester. (When cells
differentiate they specialize into various tissues needed to create body
parts.) It isn't until the second trimester that glia and neurons begin to
form. The brain doesn't wrinkle up until even later. At 24 weeks, magnetic
resonance imaging shows just a few nascent grooves in the otherwise smooth
surface of the fetal brain, according to a 2000 study in the journal Radiology.
As the third trimester begins in week 26, the grooves deepen and the brain
begins to look more like that of a newborn.
Teen brains
aren't fully formed
Parents of
stubborn teenagers rejoice, or at least relax: That adolescent attitude stems, in part, from the
vagaries of brain development.
The gray matter
of the brain peaks just before puberty and is pruned back down throughout
adolescence, with some of the most dramatic development happening in the
frontal lobes, the seat of judgment and decision-making.
A 2005 study
published in the journal Child Development found that the parts of the brain
responsible for multitasking don't fully mature until we're 16 or 17 years old.
And research presented at the BA Festival of Science in 2006 revealed that
teens also have a neural excuse for self-centeredness. When considering an
action that would affect others, teens were less likely than adults to use the
medial prefrontal cortex, an area associated with empathy and guilt. Teens
learn empathy by practicing socializing, the researchers said. So much for
grounding them until they're 20.
Brains never
stop changing
Scientific
wisdom once held that once you hit adulthood, your brain lost all ability to
form new neural connections. This ability, called plasticity, was thought to be
confined to infancy and childhood.
Wrong. A 2007
study on a stroke patient found that her brain had adapted to the damage to nerves
carrying visual information by pulling similar information from other nerves.
This followed several studies showing that adult mice could form new neurons.
Later studies found more evidence of human neurons making new connections into
adulthood; meanwhile, research on meditation showed that intense mental
training can change both the structure and function of the brain.
Women aren't
from Venus after all
Popular culture
tells us that women and men's brains are just different. It's true that
male and female hormones affect brain development differently, and imaging
studies have found brain differences in the ways women and men feel pain, make
social decisions and cope with stress. The extent to which these differences
are genetic versus shaped by experience — the old nature-versus-nurture debate
— is unknown.
But for the
most part, male and female brains (and brainpower) are similar. A 2005 American
Psychologist analysis of research on gender differences found that in 78
percent of gender differences reported in other studies, the effect of gender
on the behavior was in the small or close-to-zero range. And recent studies
have debunked myths about the genders' divergent abilities. A study published
in the January 2010 Psychological Bulletin looked at almost half a million boys
and girls from 69 countries and found no overall gap in math ability. Focusing on our differences
may make for catchy book titles, but in neuroscience, nothing is ever that
simple.
酗酒者喝咖啡可以保護肝
<img width=1 height=1 alt="""" src="http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=yAYfHUPDlDmwf5GdUVB9lQAQa9WhAlFQjikACzIx&T=1d7np03um%2fX%3d1364233769%2fE%3d1197544876%2fR%3dnews%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d2.1%2fW%3dH%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d3000029044%2fH%3dX2lkPSJmZGMwNDY0Mi0xZWQwLTM0N2UtYjk3ZC0zZTZhM2RkMjZiODEiIGNhbl9zdXBwcmVzc191Z2M9IjEiIHJlZnVybD0icmVmdXJsX3d3d195YWhvb19jb20iIHJzPSJsbXNpZDphMDc3MDAwMDAwMmxublFBQVEiIHNlcnZlSWQ9InlBWWZIVVBEbERtd2Y1R2RVVkI5bFFBUWE5V2hBbEZRamlrQUN6SXgiIHNpdGVJZD0iNDQ2NDA1MSIgdFN0bXA9IjEzNjQyMzM3Njk4NDA1MTMiIA--%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d20258B62&U=12cpnrv7r%2fN%3dw59zGEoGYmA-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dLOGO%2fB%3d-1%2fV%3d0">
Could Coffee Protect Against Liver Disease in Alcohol Drinkers?
By Lindsey Konkel, MyHealthNewsDaily Contributor | LiveScience.com – 5 hrs agoFor guys who drink alcohol, heavy coffee consumption may protect against liver damage, according to a new study from Finland."Our findings suggest a possible protective effect for coffee intake in alcohol consumers," said study researcher Dr. Onni Niemelä, of Seinäjoki Central Hospital and the University of Tampere in Finland.
The researchers asked nearly 19,000 Finnish men and womenbetween ages 25 and 74 about their coffee and alcohol consumption. They also measured participants' blood levels of the liver enzyme gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT).
Drinking alcohol raises levels of GGT in the blood. Over time, drinking can also lead to alcoholic liver disease. People with liver disease show higher levels of GGT in their blood. Men in the study who consumed more than 24 alcoholic drinks per week, or about 3.5 drinks daily, had the highest levels of the liver enzyme — about three times higher than men who did not drink alcohol.
But among the men who were heavy drinkers, those who also consumed five or more cups of coffee daily showed a 50 percent reduction in GGT compared with men who drank no coffee.
The researchers found no significant association between coffee consumption and GGT levels in female drinkers.
"The findings are thought-provoking, though it is impossible to derive meaning from them," said Dr. David Bernstein, chief of the division of hepatology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, who was not involved in the new study.
In addition to drinking alcohol, smoking, older age and being overweight can also raise GGT levels. While there were no differences in these variables among heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers, former drinkers and nondrinkers in the study, the researchers cannot say for sure whether some interaction between alcohol and one of these factors affected the results. And participants may not have estimated accurately the amount of coffee and alcohol they drink.
The researchers found that the way that coffee was prepared — whether it was filtered, boiled or served as espresso, for example — did not seem to make a difference in the findings.
Previous studies have suggested that drinking coffee may decrease GGT levels, and that caffeine may play a role in this.
It remains unclear whether elevated levels of the liver enzyme correlate with symptoms of liver disease. "If I go out and have a six-pack tonight, my levels will be up, but it doesn't mean I have liver disease," Bernstein said.
People should not think that drinking more coffee will cancel out the effects of heavy drinking, he said. "We know nothing about whether decreasing levels of the liver enzyme leads to improvements in overall health, or a decreased risk of liver disease," Bernstein said.
The study was published online March 14 in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism
2013年3月24日 星期日
統甚麼統?
(馬桶要成為中國人，他去當中國人就可；要把台灣操作成為中國一部分，是叛國!!)
統什麼統！
◎ 南嘉生
台灣很多主張與中國統一的人，想像很多中國統一對個人的好處，這樣的氣氛也感染許多中間選民與淺綠軍。但是，他們這些想像，需要台灣被中國統一才能實現嗎？我懷疑。
若要成為強國的一份子，只要取得中國國籍就可以。
若要得到中國經濟成長的市場，就去中國投資、經商，不需要成為中國人都可以，一如我們到美國、日本經商那樣。
若要到中國居住，享受自己心中的中國之好，去中國旅遊、居住就可以。
若要期待中國強大，則多到中國投資即可，以中國宣稱二○二五年，其ＧＤＰ要超過美國來說，多或少一個台灣ＧＤＰ，並不影響大局。
這些都僅是個人事情，與台灣要不要和中國統一完全無關。當諸多民調顯示，台灣主流民意反對統一時，請不要再將台灣前途和您個人對統一的期待綁在一起了！
（作者現任大學副教授，嘉義市民）
老人死亡時，三分之一有某種失智症
1 in 3 Seniors Dies With Alzheimer's or Other Dementia
Alzheimer's disease (AD) kills at a relentless rate, and the absence of a cure and an aging population are contributing to a worsening health care crisis, the new Alzheimer's Association 2013 Facts and Figures Report shows.
According to the report, which is based on 2010 data,1 in 3 seniors in the United States dies with AD or another dementia. Whereas deaths from AD increased 68% between 2000 and 2010, deaths from other major diseases declined. For example, deaths from HIV dropped 42%, stroke by 23%, and heart disease, the leading cause of death, by 16%.
"Unfortunately, today there are no Alzheimer's survivors. If you have Alzheimer's disease, you either die from it or die with it," said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, in a press release. "Urgent, meaningful action is necessary, particularly as more and more people age into greater risk for developing a disease that today has no cure and no way to slow or stop its progression."
AD is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and is the only leading cause of death without a way to prevent, cure, or even slow its progression.
The new statistics are clear proof of a growing crisis, the authors say. In 2010, 83,494 Americans died of AD. Among 70-year-olds with AD, 61% are expected to die within a decade, but among 70-year-olds without AD, only 30% will die within a decade. Today, more than 5 million are living with the disease, including an estimated 200,000 under age 65 years.
Toll on Caregivers
The devastation of AD takes a huge toll not only on those with the disease but also on their loved ones and caregivers. In 2012, 15.4 people provided 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $216.4 billion. Among these caregivers are 2.3 million who care for the AD patient "long distance." Most caregivers rate the stress as high or very high, and they incur billions in additional healthcare costs of their own.
In addition, the growing AD crisis could bankrupt the country. In 2013, the direct costs of caring for those with AD will total about $203 billion. Unless something is done, AD will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in today's dollars) by 2050, and costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase over 500%, the report notes.
"The National Institutes of Health needs to reset its priorities and focus its resources on the crisis at our doorstep and Congress must fully fund implementation of the National Alzheimer's Plan to solve the crisis," Robert Egge, vice president of public policy for the Alzheimer's Association, said in the release.
The full report can be viewed here.
Medscape Medical News © 2013 WebMD,
2013年3月22日 星期五
台灣人不愛讀書!!! 文化蒼白症!!!
以前只知道台灣人不讀書，但沒有數據。這篇報導的統計數字令人寒心。難怪台灣出版業蕭條，作者無法靠著作生存；除非是學校用的教科書或準備考試的參考書，沒有人要買!! 這是否表示台灣文化水準、精神生活水準遠不及日韓新加坡? 用數字表示，比數分別為 2 : 8.4; 2 : 10.8; 以及 2 : 9.2 !!!
(我出了一本微生物學拓荒者傳記集，有一位說，"死人的傳記，誰要讀?!" 這也可能代表現代知識份子的思維；會賺錢、會幫助你出人頭地的事，才有興趣。人口增加了嘛，在生存競爭，你死我活的社會，只能如此嘛。不是嗎? 你能怪他嗎?)
記得年輕時，還想讀破世界文學全集，這種志願不知道是否受了日本作家、書籍的影響所致?? 不過，到1950年代 (中學) 時，已經變成一天到晚，念誦三民主義、反共抗俄八卦。那些黨軍出身的 "老師"們，只想在黨政高層面前好看、得高分， 誰管你精神生活、文化水準哦!! 犧牲這堆年輕學子，誰管你哦!!
很好奇，現代年輕人，多少人有 "讀破世界文學全集" 想法的?? 除了只關心賺錢、出人頭地，是否網路資訊無限增加，也左右了購買文學書籍意願??
教育界人士如何使年輕人更想讀各種書籍，使精神生活更為豐富?? 責任可真大!!!
台灣人不愛閱讀 每人每年只看2本書
〔記者邱燕玲／台北報導〕文化部長龍應台昨在行政院院會報告「台灣出版業發展策略」時指出，國人每人每年平均僅閱讀兩本書，相較於日、韓等國要少得多；行政院長江宜樺表示，國人閱讀風氣並不盛行，令人憂心，請教育部與文化部通力合作，從根本擴大閱讀人口及閱讀風氣。
文化部提出研議提升圖書消費的賦稅措施，並扶持獨立書店，結合文創圓夢基金鼓勵經營獨立書店、協助獨立書店成為閱讀及創作推廣平台等作為。
龍應台報告表示，目前出版產業面臨國人閱讀風氣及買書意願低落，國人每年平均閱讀兩本書，遠低於日本的八．四本、新加坡的九．二本、韓國的十．八本。
她進一步指出，外銷市場以華文地區為主；版權輸入高於輸出，年度暢銷排名有四成以上為翻譯作品；數位出版的產值成長率不高，出版業者無出版電子書意願。
根據圖書出版產業每兩年進行一次的調查報告指出，九十九年國人每週看書四．七小時，每天看四十．三分鐘；一年內未購書者占四十七．五％，其中有三十五．一％表示沒興趣看書；每人每年購書金額為一五三六元（占台灣國民平均所得○．二九％）。
閱讀貧困化，文化蒼白症！
政府天天「書香社會」，從文建會、文化部，天天喊「文化」，結果呢？生活在台灣的人，每人每年平均閱讀二本書（或購買二本書）。與世界各國民眾相較，瞠乎其後。文化生活志向未能形成，雖有表面的經濟繁榮，無法成為進步國家。
不管從知識論，或從教養論，閱讀都是不可缺的條件。閱讀，以開啟心智，文明國家或文明社會不是這樣形成的嗎？「文化生活志向」受到進步國家的重視，不是沒有理由的。
台灣從戰前五十年的日本殖民統治到戰後六十多年的國民黨中國殖民統治，從日本化而國民黨中國化。語文斷裂、政治變遷，書寫與閱讀受到的影響最大。
戒嚴時期的政治公害，解嚴以後的商業公害，形成嚴重的文化病理。書寫、出版（印刷、發行）、閱讀的文學社會構造莫不受到扭曲與破壞。「書香社會」說說而已，「文化」喊喊罷了，這就是我們這個不像國家的「國家」的問題。
購書閱讀是閱讀者與書店或其他流通管道的關係，書店因而藏著愛書人的夢。養成閱讀這種文化教養的人們，因為對書的愛情，會逛書店，尋找所愛；借書閱讀是閱讀者與圖書館的關係，無須購買，而是借閱，可以說是公共福利。
一九八七年諾貝爾文學獎得主，詩人布洛斯基（J. Brodsky
1940-1998）說「圖書館比軍隊重要；帝國是靠語言的力量而非軍隊維繫的。」大哉斯言。在蘇聯革命後的貧困與專制社會成長的這位非學院孕育詩人，圖書館對他的意義何等重大！
台灣有許多鄉鎮沒有真正的書店，台灣的公共圖書館以壓低價格的採購法殺「書」取「本」；而政府的文化部門坐令事態嚴重化，只會用鈔票燃燒虛浮的黨國「夢想」。
進步的國家，圖書館進書考量大量重複閱讀因素，書價加乘購置，台灣的作法反其道而行之。鄰國日本，每年都有圖書館協會推薦圖書館購書書單。台灣呢？文化建設的虛情假意應該徹底反省了吧？
（作者李敏勇，詩人）
2013年3月21日 星期四
用病人自己的淋巴球治癒Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?!!
Immune-system therapy shows promise in adults with leukemia
By Sharon Begley | Reuters – 12 hrs agoBy Sharon Begley
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An experimental therapy that tweaks cancer patients' own immune cells to recognize an often-deadly form of leukemia has shrunk tumors and sent the cancer into remission in adults, according to a U.S. study published on Wednesday.
Although a similar immune-system approach has shown promise in children with this cancer as well as in adults with a related form of leukemia, it is the first time this particular therapy has worked in adults.
Scientists said the finding, which was based on a study of five adults, had "life-saving potential." The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The experimental therapy targeted acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a blood-cell cancer that often proves resistant to chemotherapy and can kill in mere weeks. It is more common in children but especially deadly when it occurs in adults.
Although current treatments cure an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of children with ALL, they are effective in only 30 percent or fewer of adult cases, said Dr. Michel Sadelain of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, co-leader of the study.
Adults whose ALL has returned after being temporarily beaten back with chemotherapy, Sadelain and his colleagues wrote, "have a dismal prognosis."
The study adds to the evidence that harnessing the immune system to destroy tumors could turn back many cancers.
For instance, a therapeutic vaccine against deadly melanoma, called Yervoy and manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, was approved in 2011, and scores of other immune-system-based drugs to treat cancer are in the pipeline. IMS Health has estimated that global sales of immune-based oncology drugs could reach $75 billion by 2015.
In the new study, scientists started with their patients' T cells, a form of white blood cell. These foot soldiers of the immune system make a beeline for both viruses and cancer cells, which sport molecules that act like homing beacons to attract the T cells.
Normal T cells find and attack only invaders studded with homing beacons they're able to recognize. That's why the immune system does not sweep out all cancers, let alone viruses such as HIV: T cells have not been trained to detect their beacons.
The scientists therefore re-trained the T cells to do so.
After extracting T cells from patients with ALL, a process that takes a few hours, the scientists mixed them with a harmless virus that inserted genes for a three-part molecule: one part that trains T cells to recognize homing beacons on the leukemic cells, called CD19; one part that instructs T cells to kill any such cells they find; and one part that makes T cells survive longer than usual.
After 10 to 12 days, the T cells were now genetically-engineered to detect those beacons. The cells were then returned to their five patients, aged 23, 58, 56, 59 and 66.
"The T cells are living drugs," said Sadelain. "They see the CD19, they kill the cancer cells, and they persist in the body."
Four of the patients' leukemia became undetectable in 18 to 59 days. One patient achieved the remission eight days after treatment - a dramatic result considering that several of the patients had bone marrow "chock full of leukemia," Sadelain said.
But the treatment wasn't always easy on patients. After one got back his genetically-engineered T cells, he developed a 105 degree fever as the T cells ignited what's called a cytokine storm, in which cytokines - hormones - are produced in vast quantities, leading to plummeting blood pressure and spiking fever. A second patient also suffered this cytokine storm, but in both cases it was managed with steroids.
The researchers are raising funds for a larger study, with 50 patients or more, at Sloan-Kettering as well as other cancer centers, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
They already have successfully treated three additional patients beyond the five described in the paper, Dr. Renier Brentjens of Sloan-Kettering said, and suspect they might get even better results if they began treatment earlier in the disease.
(Reporting by Sharon Begley; Editing by Jilian Mincer and Paul Simao
2013年3月19日 星期二
預防癌症七個撇步!
(運動、膽固醇、青菜水果魚、血壓、體重、血糖、抽菸等七項!)
7 Steps to Cut Cancer Risk in Half
The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. (Credit: Cultura/Getty Images)
It turns out that following the American Heart Association’s seven steps for heart health – dubbed Life’s Simple 7 – can also ward off cancer, according to a new study.
Following six of the steps can even cut cancer risk in half, said Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She said she and her colleagues just had a hunch that following healthy-heart guidelines would also decrease the risk of cancer.
And their findings confirmed that hunch. Adhering to four of the steps in Life’s Simple 7 resulted in a 33 percent cancer risk reduction, and following six or seven led to a 51 percent cancer risk reduction, according to the study, which was published today in the journal Circulation.
“We just wanted to test that hypothesis,” Rasmussen-Torvik said. “We hoped the information would provide extra motivation for the public to check out Life’s Simple 7.”
The American Heart Association developed the seven steps in 2010 with the goal of reducing heart attack and stroke deaths by 20 percent by 2020.
Rasmussen-Torvik and her fellow researchers examined two decades of data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, looking at the health records of 13,253 patients from 1987 to 2006. They found that the more steps patients followed, the less likely they were to develop cancer.
Here are the steps in the Life Simple 7:
1. Get active — AHA recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise a week.
2. Control cholesterol — Cholesterol should be lower than 200 milligrams per deciliter.
3. Eat better — This means foods high in whole grain, fruits, vegetables and lean protein such as fish. Limiting sodium, added sugars, trans and saturated fats is also important.
4. Manage blood pressure — It should be less than 120/80.
5. Lose weight — body mass index should be below 25.
6. Reduce blood sugar — Fasting blood sugar level should be below 100, which can be achieved by avoiding soda, candy and other desserts, as well as getting exercise.
7. Stop smoking — AHA says do “whatever it takes.”
The steps are cumulative, but quitting smoking was especially helpful, the researchers found. There’s also a considerable amount of overlap in the steps, considering that getting active and eating better — steps 1 and 3 — help with cholesterol, blood pressure, weight and blood sugar – steps 2, 4, 5, and 6.
The National Cancer Institute estimated that 12.5 million people had cancer in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2009. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 5.7 million people had heart disease.
Rasmussen-Torvik, who couldn’t say why these steps lowered cancer risk because cancer was not her area of study, said she hoped patients would be willing to follow the Simple 7 because they decrease the risk of two potentially deadly health ailments.
“Any little added encouragement for people to adopt these recommendations is great,” she said.
2013年3月17日 星期日
Desert Willow around Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center---休閒中心停車場的沙漠花柳
(Difficult to focus in the wind!)
In April of 2012, over the
parking area of the Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center where I go to swim every
week for the past 6 months, there are about 40-50 small trees with many
clusters of pale pink flowers. The
flowers, like many others that I have noted on the side of the suburban
city of Plano, are very exquisitely designed by nature.
These trees and flowers
on the parking lot, although all look alike, narrow leaves, trumpet-shaped
flower trunk, and ruffled flower petals, there appear to have two slightly
different kinds: one has paler flowers with broader leaves, and the other more
pinkish or reddish purplish flowers with narrower leaves. I started to notice them when they bloomed in
April and May, and took some pictures of them with my iPhone camera.
I inquired the Rec Center
personnel the name of the trees. They
called some office right away and gave me the name. It is called “Desert Willow”. From there I got more information via google.
This short tree is called Desert
Willow because it is heat tolerant, required little water, and the leaves shaped
like those of willows (Salix spp.). It
is also called Flowering Willow. Chilopsis linearis is the scientific name. It
is heat and drought tolerant, and is spread around Southwest US. It is also
considered Texas native flowers. It is a favorite kind of tree for public
places because of its ease to care. It can be pruned to make any shape or size
(I doubt it can become a tiny bonsai).
The paler and slightly larger
flowers should be a hybrid between Chilopsis linearis and Catalpa bignonioides,
called Chitalpa tashkentensis, or Morning Cloud (a somewhat different colored
ones is called Pink Dawn.) Pretty names. (The name Chitalpa is also the hybrid
of Chilopsis and Catalpa)
But it seems some experts do not
seem to think Chitalpa and Chilopsis are different. U of Texas, Austin website
showed the Chitalpa picture as the Chilopsis linearis, the leaves of which is
much wider than the willow that I attached earlier.
The flowers persisted through the
fall, though the number became less and less.
Finally, in January, leaves are all gone. This reminds me of human life. Stronger ones
live longer. However, though we took it granted and never gave it a second thought, amazingly, the same trees
will come back to life again only after a few months of rest.
Oh, how man wishes to have plant's vitality,
reborn to the world anew after only a brief sleep
bustling with spirit and beauty,
waving and singing,
dancing in the wind, that spreads the seeds,
of life and hope, joy and felicity!!
前年的秋天開始到德州Plano社區休閒中心 (Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation
Center) 游泳。起初幾個月車子開進露天停車場，一下車就走進建築內去了。但是過了半年的四月，注意到這個露天停車場，種植了四、五十株的矮樹，每一株都開滿了花。仔細一看，是很艷麗紫色或粉紅色喇叭型波狀皺邊的花，樹葉是窄長型的，像是柳樹。尤其是紫色花，特別有吸引力，只不知道是甚麼花樹。心中好奇，不知道這種花樹的名字叫做甚麼。想到這種樹應該是Plano市政府集體重植的，應該可以請休閒中心櫃檯人員向市政府負責人員查詢。他們立即拿起電話替我查詢，到我游泳完畢時，就有了答案。
這種矮樹叫做Desert
Willow (沙漠柳)，因為葉的形狀像是柳樹葉，又叫做Flowering
Willow。Google一查，它的學名叫做Chilopsis
linealis，是在美國西南方雨量少的地帶生長的落葉花樹，如果年雨量超過十英吋，就要種植在高處。它的高度不會超出五米左右，寬度也是是差不多。因為耐熱，又容易修整，不需要多少功夫照護就能生長，所以是Dallas地區公共場所常見。
(風中搖曳的花很難對準焦距)
(手機照的，相片需要旋轉90度，但轉不過來!!)
仔細看，花樹有兩種，一種開的是比較紫色、紫紅色，花朵較小的，樹葉比較窄長；另外一種是花朵較大，顏色比較淡的。查了Google資料，得知Chilopsis linealis還會和另一種Catalpa bignonioides混種，成為Chitalpa tashkentensis，又叫做Morning Cloud “晨雲”，呈稍微不同顏色，又叫做 Pink Dusk “粉紅的黎明”，好美麗的名字! 從google images看來，停車場裡比較大、比較淡色的花樹，應該就是Chitalpa tashkentensis。不過我從各個學校網站的花，越看越不清楚哪是哪。只能確定的是紫色、紅紫色的叫做Chilopsis linealis。
(February, 2013)
雖然是落葉樹(deciduous tree)，經過春天、夏天、秋天，這些花一直撐著，到十一、十二月，還有一些殘留。到一月就只剩下樹枝。不禁想到這些花樹的開花週期，似乎是一個人生。強韌的，可能開得久一點，有更長久的傳播花粉的機會。
和人不一樣的是，這些樹到了四、五月又將是一顆新樹，又會長出使人心醉的紫色、紅紫色花朵。像是對我們大聲叫喊， “你們看，我只過四個月休眠，現在又是一條好漢!”
The parking lot. You have to tilt your head!
Chilopsis linealis
Morning Cloud = Chitalpa tashkrntensis; 又一種 則稱為 Pink Dusk
Chilopsis linealis
2013年3月13日 星期三
NTUMC-1963屆畢業五十周年紀念冊感言
親眼見証了共產主義消失、專制政權垮台、台灣民主化、人群遷徙；驚見legionnaire’s disease、MRSA、HIV epidemic、SARS等的出現；又感受到傳真、電子郵件、無線網路、數位影像、smartphones等科技改善生活品質，在我們這一代，半世紀來所發生的，自然的以及人為的社會演變及進化，和過去二十幾世紀的人類歷史比較，直令人感到震撼。
以後的進展將會是甚麼???
敬祈各位同學維持身體健康、每天快樂過日子!!
許清曉
2013年3月3日 星期日
2013年3月1日 星期五
228大屠殺 - 紐約時報1947年3月29號 中英譯全文
原文出處: http://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1947.htm
1947/3/29紐約時報
Tillman Durdin報導
譯者: Tainanht
恐怖台灣
From The Nation , 1947年5月24日
by Peggy Durdin
中國人殺害平和的示威者. 據信10000個福爾摩沙人遭屠殺.
1947/3/28 中國南京
一群剛從福爾摩沙（Formosa）回到中國的外國人，確認報導中，一個月前中國軍隊跟警察在福爾摩沙的反政府示威行動中，所進行的大規模屠殺。
據這些目擊者的估計，約有一萬名福爾摩沙人民被中國武裝部隊殺害，而從示威活動的本質來看，這起屠殺行動被形容為「完全不具正當性」。
當初發起反政府示威行動的民眾並沒有武裝，而其理念是和平示威。每則傳到南京的外電報導均否認這起民眾示威遊行是由共產黨或日本所鼓動的指控。
幾天前離開福爾摩沙的外國人表示，雖然各地大致已恢復秩序,
但是氣氛肅殺.當地的處死及逮捕行動仍然持續著，而很多當地居民都往山上逃，他們不敢回家，以免遭到殺害。
*三天的屠殺
一位剛從台北來到中國的美國人表示，來自中國的軍隊在3月7號抵達台北，並在三天期間，不分青紅皂白的進行屠殺及掠奪。他們在街上看到人就射殺，闖入民宅並殺害屋主，在貧民區的街上則是死屍遍佈。美國人又提到，街上還有無頭屍身及肢體的屍塊，女人也遭到強暴。
兩名在屏東及高雄附近的外國女性，指稱中國軍人的行為根本是一起「大屠殺」。她們說，沒有武裝的福爾摩沙民眾在3月4號以和平手段接手城裡的行政中心，並藉由地方廣播電台，強烈呼籲反對暴力行為。
當地福爾摩沙的領導階層款待並邀請中國人一起午餐.但過不了多久，一群更大規模的中國軍隊來到鎮上並進行武力掃蕩。民眾被機關槍掃射，軍隊圍捕民眾並槍殺。一位城裡的發言人亦遭殺害，他的屍體被棄置公園，沒有人可獲准去搬移他的屍體。
據另一位英國人描述，高雄也發生類似情況，非武裝民眾接管城鎮的運作，他說隔幾天後，城外圍碉堡裡的中國軍隊部署到街上，用機關槍、來福槍射殺數百群眾，並對居民姦淫擄掠。當地領導階層都被捕入獄並捆綁，緊綁的細纜線甚至嵌進肉裡。
*傳單誘捕
外國目擊者報導，飛機上散發著由最高統帥蔣介石所署名的傳單，內容是勸說、並承諾寬待那些逃離的人民回來，而結果是，很多回來的民眾被囚禁或處死。 一位外國人聲稱：就像是有一種政策，企圖將那些最優秀的人都殺光。
這些外國人的描述，都與位於南京的各重要外國大使館的報告相同。
福爾摩沙人尋求聯合國的介入，有些人跟外國大使接觸，希望將福爾摩沙列為聯合國最高指揮部的管轄區，或是直接接受美國保護。因為這起屠殺事件，更深化了福爾摩沙人民對於中國的敵意。
兩個在屏東的女人說當福爾摩沙人接管市政時,他們是唱著'星條旗歌'.
***************************
事情開始於台北街頭. 時值二月二十七日,一個隸屬於台灣菸酒專賣局的刑警看到一個婦人正在販賣私煙.
當他要沒收她的物品和錢時,這婦人試圖掙脫逃跑.他毫不留情地以槍拖重擊婦人頭部,使得她當場癱死在地.
圍觀的民眾忿怒地將這警察包圍,但這警察竟向群眾開槍,因此導致數人受傷,並有一人死亡.
在經歷了一年半的無能,專制,並且腐化不堪的統治後,台籍民眾對國民黨政府所積蓄的怨懟情緒終於爆發成對中國統治者的非武力示威.
而中國統治者卻以殘暴的武力鎮壓,恐嚇及大規模屠殺,來撲滅這場示威反抗.一開始,士兵和警察是胡亂地見人即開槍掃射,此舉即造成了數千人死亡;而過後,他們則有計劃地選擇謀害對象,針對學生,學者,有地位的商人和士紳等台籍精英展開拘捕即殺害.在台的外國人估計迄今至少已有五千人被害,而這場屠殺現在還繼續進行中.
最高行政首長陳儀把民眾對無能政府的示威解讀成本地台人反抗中國政府的行動.而南京政府再次以它每逢政治和經濟危機的主要解決方式----訴諸武力,來對待人民.儘管南京政府進行了嚴格的新聞箝制審查,並夾雜著不實的官方報導,但是在福爾摩沙所發生的悲慘三月屠殺的真相,終於還是傳到這裡了.
國民黨政府擁有並控制了整個台灣的經濟----只為了它自己的政權利益及剝削人民.而一項被嚴格控制進口買賣的物品即是香煙,因此造成許多台灣街頭小販賣私煙.這婦人就是在政府緝查私煙的行動中被殺.
這起於婦人被殺而引起的騷亂並不是有計劃的革命行動,而是積怨已深的民眾針對專賣刑警及其背後所代表的國家特權剝削集團的情緒發洩.無武裝的人民遊行到政府機關要求對過失警察加以懲處,對死傷者予以補償和開除香煙公賣局長.
他們在公賣局前徒手打死兩名警察,並放火燒掉一堆香煙.而防衛陳儀辦公室的警衛則以機槍掃射並無挑臖行為的聚集民眾.
此時陳儀困守在辦公室內,對情勢失去控制.商家關閉,大眾運輸停擺.
聚集的民眾還是沒有武裝,便只徒手毆打一些中國人,並把它們的財產燒掉,但無論如何,仍保留他們的房子. 而當陳儀忙著以廣播放送和解的承諾時,成卡車的警察卻在街上掃射示威群眾.
在這段期間內,沒有一個外國人曾經看過一個有武裝的台灣人.
狡詐的陳儀一邊假意請求民眾與之和談,一邊卻靜待軍隊支援.在三月二日時,陳儀在廣播中說他愛惜台灣人,並保證:
1. 沒有人會因為此動亂而遭清算懲罰
2. 死者家屬會以金錢補償
3. 成立一個事件調解委員會來解決爭端
委員會是由外省人和台灣人代表共同組成,在三月十日時,這個委員會呈給陳儀他們對政府改革的建議.而如今(譯註:指5月24日),大部份的台灣代表已遭處決.
經由委員會的努力,台北和基隆平靜下來.由學生組成的糾察隊巡邏街市,維持秩序.同樣的,許多其中的學生,如今也不幸身亡.
但是這場騷動卻由台北傳到全台灣.在三月初時,幾乎所有市鎮的行政權已由台灣人接管.而所有的資料都顯示,接管過程幾乎沒有武力衝突發生.暴力僅限於肢體毆打,但的確是一些有公務人員被殺.
在三月七日,委員會提出了一份合理的建議書,其中包括下列幾點:
1. 台灣是省,而非殖民地
2. 六月前民選省市長
3. 台灣人得以加入警察和司法機關
4. 廢除特務機關和禁止政治性的拘捕
5. 保障新聞,言論自由和罷工的權利
6. 公家事業的經理人為台灣人
7. 成立委員會以監督從日本政府接收的企業和工廠
8. 取消專賣權
9. 保障高山族(即原住民)的經濟利益
10. 陸海空三軍應盡量讓台灣人加入
11. 釋放所謂的台籍日兵戰犯
12. 中央政府償還徵用的稻米和砂糖
13. 廢除警備總部,以防止軍權濫用
委員會提出的這些建議並非最後通牒,而只是作為協商的基礎而已.而陳儀答應了其中的大部份.
三月八日中午,第四憲兵團的指揮官告訴委員會說有關於政治改革的建議是”合理的”,但希望委員會不要廢除警備總部.
指揮官說:”我以個人生命保證,中央政府絕對不會採取軍事行動”
其實在這個時間點上,雖然台灣人是掌握了台灣大部份地區的行政權,但陳儀只需要誠實地進行改革,還是可以與台灣人取得共識,使得南京政府還是能控制台灣,並且得到台灣人的合作.
但是陳儀根本無心妥協講和. 在他的認知,這根本就是叛亂.而他要徹底摧毀反抗勢力.
他欺騙,假意妥協,為的就是等軍隊到來.
到了三月八日下午,在毫無預警,台灣人也毫無挑臖行為的情形下,基隆和台北的街上突然槍聲大作.陳儀等待的軍隊從中國大陸來了.
這支援軍主要是由第二十一師所組成,原駐四川,出了名的殘暴凶狠.接下來的四五天,光是基隆台北地區就有上千名無武裝的平民被屠殺.諷刺的是,就在一年半前, 幾乎是同樣的民眾正歡欣的迎接中國軍隊.
配備機關槍和來福槍的士兵被成堆的卡車載入市區,沿街胡亂掃射;他們強要進入民舍,射殺第一個來應門的人,然後大肆劫掠.
浮起的屍體佈滿基隆港和淡水河;二十個男人慘遭閹割,耳朵被削掉,鼻子也被割下.一個外國目擊者看到憲兵斬斷一個少年人的手臂後,然後以刺刀狠戳入他的身體---就只因為他下單車不夠快.
政府的廣播勸說逃走的學生安心回來,但是一旦他們一到,立即就被處決.任何一個有名望的人都處在極大的危險下.
台北的這場屠戮直到三月十四日才慢慢平息.但全台各地,相同的驚悚殺害模式緊接而來.
228大屠殺 - 紐約時報1947年3月29號 英文原文
http://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1947.htm
March 29, 1947 - New York Times
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by Tillman Durdin
Formosa killings are put at 10,000
Foreigners say the Chinese slaughtered
demonstrators without provocation
Nanking, March 28, Foreigners who have just returned to China
from Formosa corroborate reports of wholesale slaughter by Chinese
troops and police during anti-Government demonstrations a month
ago.
These witnesses estimate that 10,000 Formosans were killed by
the Chinese armed forces. The killings were described as "completely
unjustified" in view of the nature of the demonstrations.
The anti-Government demonstrations were said to have been by
unarmed persons whose intentions were peaceful. Every foreign report
to Nanking denies charges that Communists or Japanese inspired or
organized the parades.
Foreigners who left Formosa a few days ago say that an uneasy
peace had been established almost everywhere, but executions and arrests
continued. Many Formosans were said to have fled to the hills fearing
they would be killed if they returned to their homes.
****** Three Days of Slaughter ******
An American who had just arrived in China from Taihoku said that
troops from the mainland arrived there March 7 and indulged in three days
of indiscriminate killing and looting. For a time everyone seen on the
streets was shot at, homes were broken into and occupants killed. In the
poorer sections the streets were said to have been littered with dead.
There were instances of beheadings and mutilation of bodies, and
women were raped, the American said.
Two foreign women, who were near at Pingtung near Takao, called the
actions of the Chinese soldiers there a "massacre." They said unarmed
Formosans took over the administration of the town peacefully on March 4
and used the local radio station to caution against violence.
Chinese were well received and invited to lunch with the Formosan
leaders. Later a bigger group of soldiers came and launched a sweep through
the streets.
The people were machine gunned. Groups were rounded up and
executed.
The man who had served as the town's spokesman was killed. His body was
left for a day in a park and no one was permitted to remove it.
A Briton described similar events at Takao, where unarmed Formosans
had taken over the running of the city. He said that after several days
Chinese soldiers from an outlying fort deployed through the streets killing
hundreds with machine-guns and rifles and raping and looting. Formosan
leaders were thrown into prison, many bound with thin wire that cut
deep into the flesh.
****** Leaflets Trapped Many ******
The foreign witnesses reported that leaflets signed with the name
of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek promising leniency, and urging all who had
fled to return, were dropped from airplanes. As a result many came back
to be imprisoned or executed. "There seemed to be a policy of killing off
all the best people," one foreigner asserted.
The foreigners' stories are fully supported by reports of every
important foreign embassy or legation in Nanking.
Formosans are reported to be seeking United Nations' action on their
case. Some have approached foreign consuls to ask that Formosa be put under
the jurisdiction of Allied Supreme Command or be made an American
protectorate. Formosan hostility to the mainland Chinese has deepened.
Two women who described events at Pingtung said that when Formosans
assembled to take over the administration of the town they sang "The Star
Spangled Banner."
Terror in Taiwan
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The Nation, May 24, 1947
by Peggy Durdin
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On February 27 a policeman of the Taiwan (Formosa) Monopoly Bureau saw a
woman selling smuggled cigarettes on the streets of the capital, Taipei.
When he tried to seize her tray and money, she pulled away, and he struck
her a crashing blow on the head with his revolver butt. She died at his
feet. An angry mob gathered, and the police shot into the crowd, killing
one person and wounding others. Forthwith a year and a half of gathering
hatred for an inefficient, autocratic, corrupt administration exploded
into unarmed demonstrations against the mainland Chinese.
China put down the revolt with brutal repression, terror, and massacre.
Mainland soldiers and police fired first killing thousands
indiscriminately; then, more selectively, hunted down and jailed or
slaughtered students, intellectuals, prominent business men, and civic
leaders. Foreigners estimate that at least five thousand Taiwanese were
killed and executions are still going on.
Governor General Chen Yi has turned a movement against bad government into
one against any Chinese government. Nanking has again demonstrated that
its chief solution for political and economic crisis is force. In spite
of a curtain of censorship and official misrepresentation, the tragic
events that took place in Formosa in March are well known here.
The Chinese government owns, controls, and operates -- for government profit
and personal squeeze -- almost the entire economy of Taiwan. one of the
articles whose importation and sale are rigidly controlled is tobacco. Many
Taiwanese street venders sell smuggled cigarettes. It was in the course
of a campaign against the sale of smuggled goods that the woman was killed
in Taipei.
The rioting which followed was not consciously revolutionary but was against
the hated monopoly police which symbolized for the people the government's
exploitation of their island. Unarmed processions marched to the government
offices to demand punishment of the policemen, compensation for the dead and
wounded, and dismissal of the head of the tobacco monopoly. They beat to
death two policemen in front of the tobacco monopoly's office and burned the
stocks of tobacco. Police guarding the Governor's office raked the crowd
with machine-gun fire without provocation.
Barricaded in its offices, the government lost control of the city. Shops
closed. Transportation broke down. Mobs of Taiwanese, still unarmed, beat
up a number of mainland Chinese and burned their possessions, though not
their homes. Truckloads of police rushed through Taipei's streets machine
gunning the demonstrators while Governor Chen Yi was busily broadcasting
conciliatory promises. During this period not a single foreigner saw an
armed Taiwanese.
With calculated trickery Chen Yi continued his efforts to appease the
people while he waited for military reinforcements. On March 2, over the
radio, he expressed his love for the Taiwanese, and promised that noone
would be prosecuted for rioting, that the families of the dead would be
compensated, and that he would appoint a committee to settle the incident.
This group composed of mainlanders and representative Taiwanese, most of
whom have since been shot, was to be known as the "Committee to Settle the
February 28th Incident" and was to present to him by March 10 their
suggestions for the reform of the administration.
Though efforts of the committee Taipei and the near by port of Keelung
became quiet. Students patrolled the streets, keeping order. Many of
these students are now dead.
Meanwhile the spark ignited in Taipei had spread down the whole length
of Taiwan. In the first few days of March the Taiwanese took over the
administration of almost every city. As far as can be discovered, they
seized control in most instances without the use of firearms. Violence
was usually limited to beatings, though some officials were killed.
On March 7 Chen Yi's committee handed in its recommendations. Reasonably
enough, they included the following: that Taiwan be given provincial, not
colonial status; that provincial magistrates and city mayors be elected
before June; that a larger proportion of Taiwanese be given administrative,
police, and judicial posts; that all special police be abolished and no
political arrests be permitted; that freedom of press and speech and the
right to strike be granted; that managers of all public enterprises be
Taiwanese; that committees be elected to supervise these public enterprises
and the factories taken over from the Japanese; that the trade and
monopoly bureaus be abolished; that the political and economic rights of
aborigines be guaranteed; that Taiwanese be appointed to as many army,
navy, and airforce posts in Taiwan as possible; that detained "war
criminals"
be released (Taiwan was part of the Japanese Empire for fifty-one years);
that the central government repay Taiwan for the expropriated sugar and
rice; that garrison headquarters be abolished "to avoid misuse of military
might." These proposals were not presented as an ultimatum. They were
clearly a basis for negotiation. Chen Yi had already agreed to most of the
points.
At noon on March 8 the commander of the Fourth Gendarme Regiment told the
committee that its demands for political reform were "proper," but asked
that it withdraw its demand for the abolition of garrisons. He said, "I
will guarantee with my life that the central government will not take
military action against Taiwan." At this point, although most of the
island was still in the hands of the people, Chen Yi could have reached
an agreement with them which would have insured the Nanking government's
continued control of Taiwan and the cooperation of the Taiwanese. He only
needed to move honestly toward reform. But he had at no time any intention
of establishing peace by compromise. This was revolt; he would crush it.
He was obliged to temporize and deceive until his troops arrived.
On the afternoon and evening of March 8, without warning or provocation,
the streets of Keelung and Taipei were cleared with gunfire to cover the
entry of mainland troops. These reinforcements consisted mainly of the
Twenty-first Division, a Szechuan outfit with a reputation for brutality.
In the next four or five days more than a thousand unarmed Taiwanese in the
Taipei-Keelung area alone were massacred. A year and a half earlier many
of them had joyously welcomed the arrival of the Chinese troops. Now
truckloads of soldiers armed with machine guns and automatic rifles shot
their way through the streets. Soldiers demanded entry into homes, killed
the first person who appeared, and looted the premises. Bodies floated
thick in Keelung harbor and in the river which flows by Taipei. Twenty
young men were castrated, their ears cut off, and their noses slashed. A
foreigner watched gendarmes cut off a young boy's hands before bayoneting
him because he had not dismounted from his bicycle quickly enough. The
radio advised students who had fled from the city to return to their
homes, but when they did so they were killed. Any prominent person was in
grave danger.
By March 14 the killing had tapered off in Taipei. In other cities the
terror followed the same pattern.