Town Hall
Date: Mar 21, 2020
By: Beth Baumann

According to Taiwan, the World Health Organization could have prevented the Wuhan coronavirus from becoming a pandemic had the organization listened to their early warnings. Taiwanese officials said WHO's failure to act early on has to do with its close ties to Chinese leadership, the Daily Caller reported. 

Taiwanese health officials alerted WHO about the Wuhan coronavirus' transmission between humans back in December but the organization failed to alert countries around the world.

One of Taiwan's chief complaints is centered around the International Health Regulations (IHR)'s reporting website, which was established so countries around the world could share data about pandemics. 

“While the IHR’s internal website provides a platform for all countries to share information on the epidemic and their response, none of the information shared by our country’s [Centers for Disease Control] is being put up there,” Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chien-Jen told the Financial Times. “The WHO could not obtain first-hand information to study and judge whether there was human-to-human transmission of COVID-10. This led it to announce human-to-human transmission with a delay, and an opportunity to raise the alert level both in China and the wider world was lost."    [FULL  STORY]

Forbes
Date: Mar 21, 2020
By: H I Sutton, Contributor

The Taiwanese Coast Guard (CGA) reported that a Chinese speed boat rammed one of their cutters on March 16. The Incident, in which 10 Chinese boats were involved, was seemingly about fishing rights. This may be a significant escalation at a time when both countries are fighting the pandemic.

The incident occurred off Kinmen, a set of islands only a few miles from the Chinese mainland. In 1958 the two countries came to blows there when China attempted to land troops. The U.S. provided naval support to Taiwan, and the Second Taiwan Strait Crises ended in a ceasefire. 71 years later and the islands’ proximity to the mainland means that they are a popular tourist attraction for both Taiwanese and Chinese visitors. Fishing rights are contested however and the local coast guard has been buying new cutters to better police the waters.

The patrol cutter, CP-1022, was brand new, having joined the fleet a few days earlier. It was on its first mission when the incident occurred. Together with another cutter it was attempting to clear the area of Chinese fishing vessels and illegal nets. At around 10 a.m. local time the Chinese boats reacted, racing at the cutters. They threw beer bottles and stones. During the melee CP-1022 was hit and damaged. Fortunately no one was injured or killed.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan arrivals who exhibit mild flu symptoms may quarantine at home rather than hospital

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/21
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Given that hospitals are packed with people exhibiting mild flu symptoms after returning home from abroad, the government has decided to relax the rules and allow those with mild symptoms to quarantine at home instead of hospital.

All inbound passengers exhibiting symptoms of Wuhan virus (COVID-19) such as a fever and cough have been listed as suspected cases and were previously required to stay in isolation wards. They would typically leave only after testing negative for the coronavirus twice.

The whole procedure usually takes three days and is said to have strained hospitals and medical workers. To ease the burden, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced its new policy on Saturday (March 21).    FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/21/2020
By: Emerson Lim

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) Taiwan will grant an automatic 30-day visa extension to foreign nationals who entered the country on or before March 21, reversing a policy announced just three days ago that would have forced people out once their visas expired.

All travelers who entered Taiwan on or before March 21, 2020 on a visitor visa or landing visa or through a visa-waiver program will be granted an automatic 30-day extension, with the exception of overstayers, the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) announced on its website.

"No application is required. The total period of stay cannot exceed 180 days," said the bureau, which is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

It noted, however, that "these conditions are subject to change and may be adjusted as circumstances require."    [FULL  STORY]

EXPANDED CRITERIA: People who returned between March 8 and Wednesday from East Asian nations or the US and had respiratory symptoms are to be quarantined

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 22, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced 18 imported cases of COVID-19, bringing Taiwan’s total number of confirmed cases to 235.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the 18 new cases were comprised of 12 women and six men.

Most of the patients are aged between 20 and 40, he said, adding that three are in their 50s and one man is in his 70s.

Six of them exhibited symptoms on arrival in Taiwan and were tested for the virus, three were under home quarantine, two were in home isolation and one was conducting self-health management, Chen said, adding that they were detected while in more protected situations.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internatiopnal
Date: 20 March, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Taiwan has announced a second fatal case of COVID-19. The deceased was a man in his eighties with pre-existing health conditions.

He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in late February. Doctors had put the man on a ventilator and had tried to improve his condition with a drug used to treat AIDS patients.

This second death from COVID-19 came on Friday, as Taiwan recorded 27 new COVID-19 cases. This was the biggest single-day increase in Taiwan’s case load so far.    [FULL  STORY]

It seems the UK is waiting for an enforced 'lockdown' before they’ll truly stay at home

iNews
Date: 20th March 2020
By Ailsa Goodliff

In late January I flew from Taipei to Hong Kong. Most passengers were wearing surgical masks; that’s when I realised something serious was unfolding.

The 2003 SARS outbreak is a recent memory for many Taiwanese – so news of a fresh virus emerging from mainland China provoked an immediate emotional and societal response. The Government immediately jumped into defence mode and their strategies are clearly working; Taiwan is just over 2000km from China, roughly the same distance between UK and Italy, yet at the time of writing there are only 135 cases of Covid-19 in the country and two fatalities.    [FULL  STORY]

After Xinhua says Taiwan 'hates China, fawns over US,' Wu says it is not his job to flatter China

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/20
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to an editorial by Xinhua News accusing Taiwan of "hating China and fawning over the U.S.," Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said, "It isn't my job to flatter China."

During a press conference held by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday (March 18), Wu said that as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen, Taiwan and the U.S. will further strengthen cooperative consultation mechanisms to fight against the disease. After the press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto American embassy, issued a joint statement on the partnership, which will be signed by Wu and AIT Director Brent Christensen.

On Thursday (March 19) Communist China's state-run mouthpiece Xinhua News published an editorial in which it criticized the joint declaration, saying that "The Democratic Progressive Party authorities hate China and fawn over the U.S. and have come out with a new trick." The article then singled out Wu for allegedly continuing to use words with discriminatory meanings to spread the "political virus" to attack China.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/20/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, March 20 (CNA) Taiwan started a three-month amnesty program for foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas, allowing them to pay smaller fines should they decide to report to the immigration authorities during the grace period, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said Friday.

At a press conference, NIA Deputy Director-General Bill Chung (鐘景琨) said that the "Expanded Overstayers Voluntary Departure Program," which will run until June 30, comes at a time during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which undocumented migrant workers and general visa overstayers may wish to go back to their countries of origin but are concerned about the penalties they might incur.

Under the program, there will be no mandatory detention, while the maximum penalty will be NT$2,000 (US$66) and no re-entry ban, compared with detention, a maximum fine of NT$10,000 and an entry ban of 1 to 8 years for those who do not voluntarily contact immigration authorities, Chung said.

"In other words, we won't detain or restrict them from returning to Taiwan at a later date, while minimizing the fine to only NT$2,000, which is the minimum fine if an overstayer is caught," he said.    [FULL  STORY]

STOPPING THE SPREAD: Travelers who make unnecessary trips to an area under a level 3 advisory may not apply for the NT$1,000 daily home quarantine subsidy

Taipei Times
Date:\ Mar 21, 20207
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

The government yesterday implemented a level 3 “warning” travel advisory on all countries, while the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 27 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nation’s total of confirmed cases to 135.

The center also reported the nation’s second death, a man in his 80s in northern Taiwan.

The man had high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease, and despite being treated with anti-HIV and anti-malaria drugs, he died of complications due to blood poisoning, center advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.

Among the 27 new cases, 24 had returned to Taiwan between March 6 and Wednesday from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US, the center said, adding that eight of them had traveled to more than one country.    [FULL  STORY]