Media OutReach
HOPE Foundation and Taiwan’s Top Lung Cancer Experts Call for Seamless Integration of Early Screening, Precision Diagnostics, and Early Treatment
Taiwan’s proactive approach to lung cancer prevention is recognized globally for its vision and effectiveness. In July 2022, the government launched the Lung Cancer Early Detection Program, offering biannual low-dose CT (LDCT) screenings for high-risk groups, including those with a family history of lung cancer and heavy smokers. This pioneering initiative has positioned Taiwan as an international role model in lung cancer prevention. Over the past three years, more than 210,000 screenings have led to the identification of 2,506 lung cancer cases—over 80% of which were diagnosed at an early stage, with late-stage diagnoses dropping sevenfold. Previously, late-stage diagnosis was the norm, but Taiwan’s proactive policies have transformed the landscape, reversing the trend and ensuring that most initial lung cancer cases are now detected early.
During his recent visit to Taiwan, Dr. Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), commended Taiwan’s National Cancer Control Program, its comprehensive cancer registry, and robust National Health Insurance (NHI) system for establishing an exemplary cancer care network. He encouraged Taiwan to further improve early lung cancer screening rates and timely access to treatment, reinforcing its status as a global public health leader. At the conference, Minister of Health and Welfare Dr. Chiu Tai-Yuan pledged ongoing cross-ministerial collaboration and policy innovation to improve early lung cancer detection and treatment. Legislator Wang Cheng-Hsu also reaffirmed his commitment to early detection and intervention, advocating for increased resources and improved legislation to ensure early-stage lung cancer patients receive comprehensive care.
Leading medical experts further emphasized Taiwan’s advancements. Dr. Yang, Pan-Chyr, Academician of Academia Sinica, highlighted how the LDCT screening program has driven a shift toward earlier-stage diagnosis, with research indicating it could reduce lung cancer mortality by 53%. Dr. Chen Chien-Jen, Academician of Academia Sinica emphasized that the next key challenge is ensuring early-stage patients benefit from precision diagnostics and early treatment. Dr. Yang Cheng-Ta, President of the Taiwan Lung Cancer Society, added that emerging AI technology is now capable of analyzing LDCT images to predict an individual’s six-year cancer risk, which will improve identification of high-risk groups and support early intervention. Dr. Yang Chih-Hsin, President of Taiwan Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, urged early-stage patients to undergo genetic testing promptly, enabling medical teams to tailor optimal treatment plans, including surgery, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy as adjuvant treatments.
HOPE called for NHI resources to shift toward early lung cancer diagnosis and treatment, highlighting the importance of genetic testing and adjuvant therapy for high-risk early-stage patients to reduce relapse and mortality. Clinical evidence shows that adjuvant targeted therapy after surgery for stage IB–IIIA lung cancer with EGFR mutations can reduce five-year mortality by 10%, which is vital for improving outcomes and easing the burden on the healthcare system. Dr. Chen Jin-Shing, Head of Thoracic Surgery Division at National Taiwan University Hospital, advocated for priority reimbursement of adjuvant targeted therapy for patients with stage IB-IIIA lung cancer, while Dr. Chen Chih-Yi, Board Member of HOPE emphasized the importance of improving access to early genetic testing and treatment. Dr. Huang, Ming-Shyan, President of the Taiwan Clinical Oncology Society, pointed out that early-stage lung cancer treatment in Taiwan is not yet fully aligned with international guidelines, and urged that expanded screening must be matched with optimized NHI resource allocation and improved treatment access.
Other leading voices reinforced the need for comprehensive care. Dr. Wang Chin-Chou, Board Member of Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, stressed that while surgery is the primary treatment for early-stage lung cancer, it must be accompanied by proactive adjuvant therapy strategies and long-term follow-up. Dr. Chang Wen-Cheng, CEO of Taiwan Cancer Foundation emphasized that the integration of screening, diagnosis, and treatment is crucial to truly realize early detection and treatment, as well as maximizing the value of screening program. Dr. Chen Jen-Shi, President of Taiwan Oncology Society, recommended that in addition to current NHI and Cancer Drug Fund financing, the government should promote diverse payment mechanisms—such as co-payment models or commercial insurance to supplement the NHI system—to further improve access to early lung cancer treatment.
Uniting multiple lung cancer treatment experts from medical centers across Taiwan, a concerted effort to usher in a new era of early lung cancer screening and treatment. (Listed by institution from North to South)
· Dr. Chen Yu-Min, Director of General Chest Medicine Department, Taipei Veterans General Hospital
· Dr. Lee Kang-Yun, Attending Physician, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital
· Dr. Huang Chun-Yao, Attending Physician, Division of Chest Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital
· Dr. Tsai Chen-Liang, Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division, Tri-Service General Hospital
· Dr. Yeh Yu-Wen, Physician, Division of Thoracic Medicine, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital
· Dr. Chang Sheng-Yu, Attending Physician and Leader of the Lung Cancer Team, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital
· Dr. Yang Tsung-Ying, Director of General Chest Medicine Department, Taichung Veterans General Hospital
· Dr. Hsia Te-Chun, Deputy Director, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital
· Dr. Lin Chien-Chung, Attending Physician, Division of Chest Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital
Hashtag: #HOPEFoundation
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
This year’s forum is an important supporting event of the 18th Cross-Strait Forum. During the event, nine Fujian-Taiwan financial integration projects were signed, with a total value of RMB 9.1 billion. The projects cover a wide range of financial services across areas including cross-strait industrial cooperation, water supply security for public welfare, capacity upgrades for long-established Taiwan-funded enterprises, technology and innovation industries, and modern agriculture. These initiatives continue to unlock the benefits of financial policies, promote shared access to financial resources for Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan-funded enterprises, and inject new momentum into industrial integration between Fujian and Taiwan.
At the forum, the Cross-Strait Wealth and Asset Management Cross-Sector Alliance was officially inaugurated. Supported by Jinyuan Group and jointly proposed by its affiliated financial institutions, the alliance was co-founded by Xiamen International Trust, Jinyuan Uni-President Securities, Yuanxin Yongfeng Fund, Fubon Bank (China), Junlong Life Insurance, and Xiamen Chang Gung Hospital, among others. Centered on serving the wealth management and asset management needs of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the alliance aims to build a one-stop service platform covering asset allocation for Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan-funded enterprises on the mainland, family trusts and wealth succession planning, pension finance, and healthcare protection solutions.
The forum also unveiled a series of innovative financial achievements related to Taiwan. The banking industry’s first group standard dedicated to Taiwan-related financial services on the mainland, the “Specification for Taiwan-Related Financial Services of Banking Financial Institutions,” was officially released. At the same time, the “Bailufen” Taiwan Compatriot Financial Service Platform was introduced, further enhancing financial services for Taiwan compatriots living in Fujian and supporting the development of Taiwan-funded enterprises.
Hashtag: #StraitsFinancialForum
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Media OutReach
Verdant Rock Receives BBB+ Long-Term Insurer Financial Strength Rating with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings
“The infrastructure and capital markets we are targeting have been systematically underserved over the past decade. Verdant Rock enters this space with an investment grade rating, a strong capital position, the regulatory standing, the technical capability, and the long-term commitment that issuers and their advisers have been unable to find elsewhere.”
— Tolga Uzuner, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Verdant Rock Limited
The Fitch Ratings report can be accessed here:
Fitch Rates Verdant Rock at ‘BBB+’; Outlook Stable
Verdant Rock’s Class 3B registration can be verified via the BMA’s register of regulated entities (search “Verdant Rock”): https://www.bma.bm/regulated-entities
Notes to editors: For the May 2026 licensing announcement, see https://bernews.com/2026/05/walkers-supports-verdant-rock-licensing/
This announcement is (i) for information only; (ii) not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, insurance product, or financial guarantee; and (iii) not for distribution in any jurisdiction where to do so would be unlawful. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, and Verdant Rock undertakes no obligation to update them. A credit rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security and may be subject to revision, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency.
Hashtag: #VerdantRock
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ABOUT VERDANT ROCK
Verdant Rock Limited is a Bermuda-based insurance company, regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, providing Basel III and Solvency II compliant financial guarantees in emerging markets, designed to qualify as eligible credit protection under Basel and major insurance solvency regimes, for the benefit of institutions globally.
Online viewers praised the translation quality, with comments including “The quality of this real-time translation is amazing,” “The translation is incredibly fast,” and “The live speech recognition quality is surprisingly good.” Some viewers assumed the subtitles came from NVIDIA’s official translation team.
The achievement demonstrates how Taiwan’s media industry is adapting to AI-driven transformation. TVBS is positioning itself as a leader in integrating proprietary AI development with real-world broadcast applications. The company completed optimization and deployment of the system in just nine days — a process that traditionally requires months of dedicated training, according to Andy Yang, manager of TVBS AI Future Technology Department.
Yang explained that the biggest challenge in real-time translation lies in balancing “content accuracy” with “reading fluency” under extremely tight time constraints. Huang’s speaking style is highly improvisational and frequently switches between English, Mandarin and Taiwanese, while audience applause and cheering often occur simultaneously.
Applying standard off-the-shelf translation software in such an environment would likely result in sentence segmentation errors and unclear semantic interpretation, Yang said. Rather than pursuing “zero-latency” translation at all costs, TVBS designed a subtitle presentation mechanism specifically tailored to the keynote format.
Prior to the event, the TVBS team conducted extensive cross-platform testing on multiple AI translation models, evaluating latency and error rates. By introducing a carefully calibrated broadcast delay, the system gained additional time to process semantic meaning and contextual alignment. This approach enabled smoother subtitles matching natural Chinese reading habits, Yang said.
The team also built a dedicated knowledge base for NVIDIA GTC Taipei, compiling AI industry terminology, product names and technical keywords in advance. This significantly improved translation quality and the accuracy of professional content delivery. TVBS’s real-time translation system can be customized based on different broadcasting scenarios, Yang noted.
Yang emphasized that the key to the rapid nine-day deployment was cross-department collaboration. Engineering teams handled hardware tuning and signal integration, while internal technical and content teams managed ongoing model training and refinement. TVBS established a collaborative workflow integrating both technology and editorial expertise.
Through continuous iteration and adjustment, the team incorporated Taiwanese linguistic nuances and natural Chinese phrasing into the system. This enhanced fluency and readability beyond what generic AI models alone could achieve, ultimately shaping what Yang called a distinct “TVBS AI style.” The approach reflects the company’s “3T” philosophy — Truth, Trust and Technology.
In his keynote at the Taipei Music Center, Huang focused on AI infrastructure, next-generation computing platforms and NVIDIA’s latest technological roadmap. GTC Taipei 2026 attracted significant international attention as AI continues to reshape global industries. Through its own transformation journey, TVBS hopes to help lead Taiwan’s media industry into a new era shaped by AI.
Hashtag: #TVBS
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn