Eye On Taiwan

COVID-19: Number of Taiwan cases reaches 395 Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:54 AM PDT Radio Taiwan Internatiopnal Date: 15 April, 2020 By: John Van Trieste The total number of COVID-19 case Taiwan has recorded so far has now reached 395. Taiwan reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The new cases bring the total number Taiwan has reported so far up to 395. The patients in both new cases had recently returned to Taiwan from the US.    [FULL  STORY]

Medical supplies delivered by Taiwan are arriving stamped with “China Airlines” Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:49 AM PDT Quartz Date: April 15, 2020 By: Isabella Steger, Asia deputy editor Landing in the Republic of China (Taiwan). TYRONE SIU/REUTERS When a plane delivering millions of medical face masks landed in Luxembourg on April 9, the livery depicted a plum blossom against a lilac background, and the name “China Airlines.” The shipment didn’t come from China, however. It came from Taiwan. Though the nation is commonly known as Taiwan, its flag carrier’s name is derived from Taiwan’s official name, which is the Republic of China—the name of the government that once controlled China before it fled to modern-day Taiwan after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War. The People’s Republic of China’s flag carrier is, confusingly, Air China. As Taiwan steps up its medical diplomacy during the coronavirus pandemic, some Taiwanese officials, and citizens, worry the airline’s ambiguous name could undermine its efforts to assert itself in the international arena. In recent weeks Taiwan has worked to leverage its success in battling coronavirus as well as the world’s growing frustration with China. It has donated millions of face masks to Europe, the US, and its diplomatic allies, while a global campaign to garner support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Organization (WHO) is gaining unprecedented levels of attention and support.    [FULL  STORY]

Terminal 1 at Taiwan’s top airport registers no arrivals amid coronavirus pandemic Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:43 AM PDT Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport saw record low of 669 passengers Tuesday April 14 Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/15 By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Only 669 people passed through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Tuesday April 14 (CNA photo) Only 669 people passed through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Tuesday April 14  (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Not a single person arrived from overseas at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal One Tuesday (April 14), while the overall number of travelers passing through the airport plunged to a new low of 669. Like many other countries facing the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Taiwan has imposed restrictions on international travel, with most foreign citizens being barred from arriving on the island. The total number of passengers arriving and departing at the airport’s two terminals first fell to 883 on Monday (April 13) before plummeting to a new record low of 669, according to data presented by the National Immigration Agency (NIA). Of those, 316 were leaving Taiwan while 353 were arriving, all of the latter at Terminal Two. Terminal One was mainly used by airlines operating regional flights, most of which had been canceled or suspended for an indefinite time, CNA reported. Nearly the only people still present at the terminal were NIA agents and staff at the duty-free stores. In addition, the authorities also transferred some flights to Terminal Two in order to save manpower.    [FULL  STORY]

Gov’t considering mandatory virus tests for certain travelers Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:37 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/15/2020 By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Matthew Mazzetta CNA file photo. Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Although the COVID-19 coronavirus is currently at a "controllable" level in Taiwan, precluding the need for universal testing, the government is considering mandating tests for all travelers returning from certain high risk locations overseas, Deputy Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said Wednesday. During a hearing at the Legislative Yuan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) asked Hsueh why the government did not take advantage of the recent lull in new cases to begin testing for the virus on a larger scale in Taiwan. In response, Hsueh said universal testing, which he likened to "fishing with a net," is usually only necessary when a virus is spreading uncontrollably through communities. Another disadvantage of universal testing is that it causes people to let their guard down, which, in cases where tests show "false negative" results, can create the risk of community transmission, Hsueh said.    [FULL  STORY]

Students must be taught about labor issues, groups say Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:34 AM PDT Taipei Times Date: Apr 16, 2020 By: Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter Lawmakers and labor rights advocates in Taipei yesterday called for legislation to ensure that students are educated about labor-related topics before they enter the workplace. Such education would prevent students from being exploited in internships or cooperative education placements, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. Universities should include courses on labor issues as part of the required curriculum, while employers should also receive mandatory labor-related education taught by professionals, she said. Taiwan is known for many things, such as its National Health Insurance program and its success in containing COVID-19, DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said.    [FULL  STORY]

COVID-19: Taiwan mulls testing returnees from high-risk countries Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 15 April, 2020 By: Shirley Lin Deputy Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan The health ministry says it may mandate COVID-19 tests for all people returning from countries where the disease has taken a high toll. That’s a departure from the current policy of requiring all arrivals go into quarantine but not requiring tests. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Taiwan has increased the number of testing stations nationwide from 11 to 34. With its current testing capacity, Taiwan could conduct 3,800 tests a day if needed.    [FULL  STORY]

As U.S. discouraged mask use for public, White House team raced to secure face coverings from Taiwan for senior staff Posted: 15 Apr 2020 11:27 AM PDT A journalist wears a mask as President Trump and members of the coronavirus task force brief reporters at the White House on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) The Washington Post April 15, 2020 By: Carol D. Leonnig, Elizabeth Dwoskin and John Hudson  A journalist wears a mask as President Trump and members of the coronavirus task force brief reporters at the White House on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) In mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to fix what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government’s ability to function amid the advancing pandemic: a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex. Alarmed by the small cache and the growing signs of an acute shortage of protective gear in the United States, a senior NSC official turned to a foreign government for help, according to people familiar with the situation. The outreach resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from Taiwan, which had plentiful domestic production and had sharply curtailed the spread of the coronavirus on the island. While the bulk of Taiwan’s goodwill shipment went to the Strategic National Stockpile, 3,600 were set aside for White House staff and officials, administration officials said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan research team proposes alternative coronavirus cure Posted: 15 Apr 2020 10:25 AM PDT NCHU’s findings published in scientific journal as researchers introduce new strategy for developing COVID-19 remedies Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/15 By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer NCHU researcher Hou Ming-Hon (center) and his team discovers alternative way to develop coronavirus vaccine. (NCHU photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A group of researchers from the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) has proposed an alternative method for developing a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine to prevent the virus from mutating. The team, led by NCHU Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics Director Hou Ming-Hon (侯明宏), has conducted research with George Mason University, hoping to uncover the mysteries behind the coronavirus' ability to create variations of itself in such a short time. Their findings were published by the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in its March issue, according to UDN. [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: Bailout briefing rerouted by CAL debate Posted: 15 Apr 2020 10:13 AM PDT LEGISLATIVE QUESTIONS: Lin Chia-lung was set to discuss relief plans for airlines, travel agencies and other firms hurt by the pandemic, but lawmakers raised other issues Taipei Times Date: Apr 16, 2020 page By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times The cost of renaming China Airlines (CAL) was the subject of heated debate between Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and several lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei yesterday. Lawmakers opposed to the idea said that the name change would cost the nation approximately NT$1.1 billion (US$36.63 million), as well as the reputation the airline has built over the years. Lin, who has said he was open to the change, was scheduled to brief lawmakers about the government’s bailout plans for airlines, transportation companies and tourism agencies hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, but lawmakers’ questions focused on the renewed calls in the past few days to change CAL’s name. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) asked Lin if any countries had actually mistaken Taiwan for China when they saw the banners that China Airlines hung on containers of mask donations sent by the government.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan donation of 300,000 masks arrives in Philippines Posted: 15 Apr 2020 09:34 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/15/2020 By: Emerson Lim Gilberto Lauengco, vice chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (left) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Representative Michael Hsu (right) Gilberto Lauengco, vice chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (left) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Representative Michael Hsu (right) Taipei, April 15 (CNA) A shipment of 300,000 surgical face masks donated by Taiwan to the Philippines arrived in the capital Manila on Wednesday to help the neighboring country fight the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Gilberto Lauengco, vice chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), formally accepted the donation from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Representative Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The 300,000 masks were shipped to the Philippines on EVA Air, one of Taiwan's two major airlines. "MECO, on behalf of the Philippine government, thanks the Taiwan government for its kind gesture of helping with its efforts against the pandemic and the donation will be a welcome reinforcement for hospital frontliners," according to a statement issued by MECO, the de facto Philippine embassy in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]