20120504 9am

9AM Intro

Good morning, it's 9 o'clock. I'm Bill Thissen

9AM TAIWAN NEWS ....

Vice Mainland Affairs Minister - Liu De-shun - says Taipei will not cooperate with Beijing in the South China Sea. According to Liu ... the island groups in the area are inherent parts of the territory of the Republic of China and as such Taipei does not need to take sides with any party. The comments came amid heightened tensions in the region due to an ongoing standoff between China and the Philippines that erupted April 10-th over the Scarborough Shoal -- which lies off the coast of the Philippines. -------- The Centers for Disease Control says a likely case of classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is not linked to the human form of mad cow disease. The statement follows reports the symptoms displayed by the patient - who has since died - bore high resemblance to those of a classic C-J-D case. However ... health officials say it should not be confused with variant C-J-D -- which is contracted through eating meat infected with mad cow disease. There have been 279 cases of possible or confirmed C-J-D in Taiwan since 1996 -- among which 274 were random and four were hereditary, with only one confirmed as v-C-J-D. --------- Premier Sean Chen says the government will continue to expand and promote the island's filmmaking industry -- following a strong performance by a number of Taiwanese movies last year. According to Chen ... government agencies should take advantage of the Chinese-speaking market and the ECFA according with China - which has expanded the presence of Taiwanese films there. The premier's remarks follow the Government Information Office's review of the progress of a four-year project to boost the island's filmmaking industry. According to the G-I-O ... the number of people who went to local cinemas to watch Taiwan-produced films was around 6-million in 2011 -- more than three times the number for the year before.

chen

American lawmakers were surprised when Chen GuangCheng dialed into the hearing they were holding into his situation in China. Mr. Chen is asking to go to the United States, having apparently changed his mind after telling U.S. officials he wanted to stay in China. He's now afraid for his family, as Priscilla Huff reports:

syria

Syrian forces stormed student dormitories during an anti-government protest at Aleppo University yesterday, firing tear gas and bullets in an hours-long siege that killed at least four students and forced the closure of the state-run school. The siege began late Wednesday when around 1,500 students held a protest against President Bashar Assad's regime. Pro-regime students attacked the crowd with knives before security forces swept in, firing tear gas and then live ammunition. The U.N. estimates 9,000 people have been killed since the revolt began, and a peace plan brokered by Kofi Annan nearly a month ago has done little to stem the bloodshed. In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney admitted the plan might be doomed.

sky

A group of scientists took to the skies in a slow-moving airship today in search of meteorites that rained over California's gold country last month. Treasure hunters have swarmed the Sierra Nevada foothills over the past two weeks, snatching up pieces of meteorites. Most of the recovered space rocks have been tiny, with the largest weighing in at 19 grams. Initial inspection of rock fragments indicates this type of meteorite is among the oldest, dating to the solar system's birth 4 billion to 5 billion years ago.

ball

The baseball made famous when it rolled through Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series is being sold tomorrow. The ball was expected to bring in more than $100,000. Mookie Wilson's grounder rolled through Buckner's legs, allowing the New York Mets to cap a two-out rally with a victory in the 10th inning.

WEATHER AM .....

cloudy skies w/ rain and possible thunder showers islandwide -- w/ a high of 25 in the Taipei area - 26 in Taichong and 30 in Gaoxiong. Current Temperatures .... Taipei -- 21 Taichung -- 25 Gaoxiong -- 25

9AM Outro

That's the ICRT News at 9. I'm _____