BIPARTISAN LETTER: The lawmakers urged more than 50 countries to join the US in calling for an end to China’s efforts to exclude Taiwan from international bodies

Taipei Times
Date: May 10, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

Bipartisan members of the US Congress on Friday wrote to leaders of more than 50 countries urging them to support Taiwan’s participation at the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), adding that the WHO has repeatedly refused to accept monetary donations directly from Taiwan.

The move is significant, as it is the first time that US lawmakers have written directly to foreign government leaders to rally support for Taiwan’s WHA bid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said, thanking the US lawmakers for their support.

The 73rd session of the WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is to meet virtually on May 18 and 19.

Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, but has not been invited since    [FULL STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 08 May, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

Health authorities say that Taiwan did not record any new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. That keeps Taiwan’s total number of confirmed cases so far at 440.

The Central Epidemic Command Center says that it has been 26 days since the last reported case of domestic origin.    [FULL  STORY]

The masks, brought to India by a special flight on May 4, were handed over by ambassador Chung-Kwang Tien of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi to Neel Kamal Singh, deputy secretary general of the Indian Red Cross Society, at a ceremony on Friday.

Hindustan Times
Date: May 08, 2020

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Taiwan government launched its first large-scale humanitarian assistance initiative in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in April

Taiwan on Friday donated one million face masks to India to help protect frontline medical personnel engaged in the fight against Covid-19, reflecting the medical cooperation between the two sides.

The masks, brought to India by a special flight on May 4, were handed over by ambassador Chung-Kwang Tien of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi to Neel Kamal Singh, deputy secretary general of the Indian Red Cross Society, at a ceremony on Friday.

Tien said the Coronavirus respects no national borders or races, and assistance should not be limited by nations.    [FULL  STORY]

7 factors: vigilance, masks, experience, talent, speed, transparency, and affordable healthcare

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/08
By:  Taiwan News\

(Taiwan News photo)[/caption] TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A coronavirus pandemic was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, but the number of confirmed cases worldwide had shot up to more than 3 million just one and a half months later.

As of May 1, we are in unprecedented terrain, with five countries having reported more than 10,000 deaths and the number of confirmed global deaths passing 230,000.

Despite being just 130 kilometers from China, where the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) first broke out, Taiwan has thus far managed to control the pandemic. As of May 1, Taiwan had gone 19 consecutive days without seeing a new local case.

People say, "Taiwan is well prepared, and now it's paying off."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/08/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) Taiwan confirmed no new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, keeping the total at 440 since the pandemic began late last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

At a daily press briefing, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the CECC, said the lack of new cases meant that Taiwan has not had any domestically transmitted infections for 26 straight days since April 12.

"It seems that the epidemic is coming under control in Taiwan. However, we should still be vigilant and make disease prevention a part of our lives so that we can loosen restrictions at a faster pace," Chen said.

He reminded people to keep a distance from each other of 1.5 meters indoors and 1 meter outdoors and to continue to wear masks and wash their hands more frequently than usual.
[FULL  STORY]

BAILOUTS COMING: The increase would cover subsidies for affected companies’ operating costs, grants for needy households and programs to spur consumer spending

Taipei Times
Date: May 09, 2020
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Without slashing a dollar, legislators yesterday passed a NT$150 billion (US$5.02 billion) increase to the Special Budget for COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery.

Prior to passing the increase, lawmakers across party lines agreed — during a preliminary review held by six committees and subsequent cross-caucus talks — not to trim the budget, but to bail out industry sectors and individuals’ livelihoods beleaguered by the pandemic.

The budget increase — which builds on NT$60 billion in stimulus funding that was passed on Feb. 25 — is divided into two parts: NT$133.5 billion in relief funds and NT$16.5 billion for disease prevention.

The increase is to cover subsidies for affected companies’ utilities, payroll and operating expenses; credit guarantees and interest subsidies; grants for lower-income households; and programs to spur consumer spending.

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 07 May, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung announces a new case of COVID-19 during a press briefing Thursday. (Photo Courtesy Central Epidemic Command Center)

Health authorities in Taiwan reported one new case of COVID-19 on Thursday. The new case brings Taiwan’s total so far up to 440.

However, the new case is being classified as an imported case. Health authorities say that as of Thursday, Taiwan has gone 25 days without any new cases of domestic origin.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Free Asia
Date: 2020-05-07

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen approaches her second inauguration later this month amid malware attacks on two of the island's major petrochemical companies that are believed to have come from China.

Security officials on the democratic island, which China has threatened to annex by force, say recent malware attacks on state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp and privately owned Formosa Petrochemical Corp could have been timed as Tsai approaches the end of her first term as president, the island's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

An initial investigation by Taiwan's National Security Bureau traced the attacks to IP addresses in China and Russia, the agency reported.

CPC was forced to temporarily halt its electronic payments system on Monday, disrupting a payment card system that motorists use to pay for fuel.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei KTV chain offers NT$2 million to family of each victim, apologizes again for fatal accident

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/07
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an attempt to take responsibility for the April 26 fire that took five lives at a Taipei KTV parlor, the Taiwanese karaoke chain Cashbox Partyworld has agreed to pay NT$2 million (US$66,791) in compensation to the victims' families, three of which have turned down the offer.

During a press interview Thursday (May 7), Cashbox Chief Executive Officer Lien Fu-tsai (連福財) said the company has offered compensation to the five families of the fire victims as previously promised. However, he said three families have refused payment for fear the compensation might affect the amount in fire insurance claims they should receive later.

Lien stressed that it would take a while for the insurance claims to be processed and that hopefully the compensation would ease some financial burden in the meantime. He emphasized that Cashbox would in no way attempt to outrun its responsibility, so the families should not worry.

While apologizing for the deadly fire once again, Lien pointed out that Cashbox has paid each individual who was injured during the incident NT$100,000 (US$3338) in compensation and will also provide additional payments in the coming weeks.

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/07/2020
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) A rapid antibody test kit for COVID-19 developed by a local biomedical company that can deliver results in just 10 minutes has passed clinical trials and is ready for mass production, a company official said Thursday.

The rapid test kit for the detection of antibodies of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been validated by a comprehensive clinical study conducted by National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). The test boasts 100 percent sensitivity and 95 percent specificity, said Cooky Chen (陳作範), chairman of Excelsior Bio-System, Inc., at an event for the presentation of the results.

The method of testing is similar to that of a pregnancy test, which uses two red lines to indicate results. Two lines indicate that the test is positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which usually means people have had COVID-19, according to project manager Hsieh Szu-min (謝思民), an infectious disease specialist from NTUH.

Through the clinical trials, the hospital provides references to the company, including methods of execution and conducting of the testing, and offers SARS-CoV-2-positive patient samples and negative samples it has collected during the pandemic for a double-blind study to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the test, Hsieh said.    [FULL  STORY]