Eye On Taiwan

Fifth round of online mask orders in Taiwan starts Wednesday Posted: 14 Apr 2020 01:57 PM PDT Simple Mart and PXMart stores nationwide as well as all convenience stores now available for mask pickup Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/14 By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Registration for the fifth round of surgical mask online orders (eMask) will be received from Wednesday (April 15) to Friday and the ordered masks will be available for pickup from April 23 – May 6, the China Times reported on Wednesday. Since the eMask system was inaugurated on March 12, it has made purchasing masks more convenient for people who lack the time to queue. Those eligible for the fifth round of eMask orders are people who had obtained masks through the third-round online orders and need to replenish their mask supply.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai praised as decisive female leader in COVID-19 fight Posted: 14 Apr 2020 01:50 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/14/2020 By Wen Kuei-hsiang and Joseph Yeh President Tsai Ing-wen/ CNA file photo Taipei, April 14 (CNA) Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was praised as one of the world's female leaders to have shown "true leadership" during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a Forbes magazine article published Monday. Tsai was also lauded for her "decisiveness" in introducing a series of pandemic control measures that successfully contained the outbreak in Taiwan. In the article titled "What Do Countries With The Best Coronavirus Reponses Have In Common? Women Leaders," published online by the American business magazine, Tsai was listed as an example of a female leader who has been successful in the fight against the coronavirus disease. Other females leaders mentioned in the same article include Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, as well as females leaders in Finland, Norway and Denmark.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: CAL to highlight ‘Taiwan’ on delivering donations Posted: 14 Apr 2020 01:43 PM PDT Taipei Times Date: Apr 15, 2020 By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter Premier Su Tseng-chang comments on suggestions to change the name of China Airlines at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday voiced support for changing the name of China Airlines (CAL, 中華航空), but said it was not an easy thing to do, as it could affect the nation’s aviation rights. Amid calls by lawmakers and members of the public for the national carrier to be renamed, Su told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei that the government would highlight “Taiwan” on the fuselage of CAL planes delivering donated medical supplies to show that they are not from China. The issue was raised after photographs of CAL planes delivering shipments of masks donated to European nations led some people outside of Taiwan to think the masks had come from China, which Su said had put the nation at an unfair disadvantage. As of yesterday, an online petition calling for CAL’s name to be changed to “Taiwan Airlines” had 47,000 signatures, while a motion sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Yi-chin (林宜瑾) to have the nation’s official English-language title changed to “[Republic of] Taiwan” or “Chunghwa” has gained the backing of 17 lawmakers.    [FULL  STORY]

160,000 people in tourism industry to benefit from government aid package Posted: 14 Apr 2020 01:24 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 14 April, 2020 By: Paula Chao Tourism Bureau’s deputy head Chang Shi-chnng (RTI file photo) The tourism bureau says about 160,000 people in the tourism industry will receive financial aid under an emergency package amid the COVID-19 outbreak. That’s the word from the bureau’s deputy head Chang Shi-chnng  on Tuesday. The  package is part of the government’s plan to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on Taiwan’s tourism industry.     [FULL  STORY]

It’s Time to Rectify Taiwan’s Shameful Treatment on the International Stage Posted: 14 Apr 2020 12:10 PM PDT The National Review Date: April 14, 2020 By: Isaac Schorr Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen and soldiers wear face masks to protect them against the coronavirus at a military camp in Tainan, Taiwan, April 9, 2020. (Ann Wang/Reuters) The U.S. should upgrade diplomatic relations with Taiwan as a symbolic rebuke to Xi Jinping. ‘Will the WHO reconsider Taiwan’s membership?” The question — asked by Radio Television Hong Kong’s Yvonne Tong — caused Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a leader in its response to the coronavirus, to put on quite the show. Initially, Aylward feigned as if he had not heard. When Tong offered to repeat her query, Aylward insisted it was “OK” and suggested that they “move on to another one.” For a third time, Tong pressed the issue, only to have Aylward reach forward and hang up on the stunned journalist. In a follow-up call, Tong again raised the topic of Taiwan. Aylward demurred that they had already discussed “China.” Incidents like this one clarify the corrupting threat that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) represents to international institutions — to say nothing of its threat to the United States and to the broader project of human freedom and flourishing. The PRC’s population of nearly one and half billion people, and the control that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exerts over that population, afford it significant economic leverage that it uses to bully feckless individuals, organizations, and nation-states into ignoring and even defending its atrocious record on human rights and indefensible postures toward Hong Kong and Taiwan. Even in the U.S. — the PRC’s chief competitor both economically and ideologically — we have borne witness to this frightening power. When Daryl Morey, the general manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, tweeted out a message of support for Hong Kong’s protesters last October, the league issued a statement condemning Morey’s tweet as “regrettable” and “offensive.” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James blathered on about Morey and the public’s need to be better “educated.” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr chastised Americans for worrying about China while gun violence remained an issue in the U.S. This inclination of international and American institutions to cower in the face of the PRC’s economic power is unnerving. As it continues to flex its geopolitical muscles, crack down on protesters in Hong Kong, and commit an appalling cultural genocide against the Uyghurs in the province of Xinjiang, the prospect of anyone’s standing up to the PRC seems decreasingly likely, even as the repercussions of acquiescence become increasingly apparent in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, apologists have taken to praising the PRC for its global leadership in combating the coronavirus instead of shining a spotlight on how its deception led to the pandemic’s proliferation.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese film director sentenced to 4 years in prison Posted: 14 Apr 2020 12:02 PM PDT Doze Niu found guilty of sexually assaulting female crew member Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/14 By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Taiwanese film director Doze Niu ( 鈕承澤) (CNA photo) The verdict of famed Taiwanese film director Doze Niu’s (鈕承澤) court case was made public on the morning of Monday (April 13). Niu had been charged by prosecutors with rape and stood accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague. According to CNA, the Taipei district court found Niu guilty and sentenced him to 4 years prison time on Monday. Niu’s lawyer said that the director will appeal the case. The film director was accused of assaulting a female crew member two years ago in November, following a meeting at his home. The Taipei Prosecutor ’s Office found Niu’s DNA on the victim’s chest and fresh injuries to her lower body at that time. Last February, he was indicted for rape. In addition, the prosecutor’s office suggested that he be punished for his failure to take responsibility for his actions.    [FULL  STORY]

Crowdfunded ‘Taiwan can help’ ad published in New York Times Posted: 14 Apr 2020 11:54 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/14/2020 By: Wang Hsin-yu and Joseph Yeh Taipei, April 14 (CNA) The New York Times on Tuesday published an advertisement funded by over 26,000 donors in a fundraising campaign with the aim of showing the world that Taiwan can help in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The full-page advertisement, initiated by a Taiwanese Youtuber and an award-winning designer, begins with the question "WHO can help?" followed by the answer: "Taiwan." The bottom of the ad reads: "In a time of isolation, we choose solidarity. You are not alone. Taiwan is with you." It also elaborates that Taiwan knows how to fight pandemics due to its experience in the battle against the SARS epidemic of 2003.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: Nation reports no new COVID-19 cases Posted: 14 Apr 2020 11:49 AM PDT GOOD NEWS: While the crisis is not over yet, the news is worth being happy about, the health minister said, while the CECC reinstated a rule for buying children’s masks Taipei Times Date: Apr 15, 2020 By: Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA For the first time in more than a month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported no new cases of COVID-19. The last time no new confirmed cases were announced was on March 9, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a news briefing in Taipei. While the pandemic is not over yet, having no new cases is still worth being happy about, said Chen, who heads the center.As of yesterday, there were 393 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan — 338 imported and 55 local — the center said.    [FULL  STORY]