The Federalist
Date: March 28, 2020
By: Tristan Justice

World Health Organization (WHO) Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward avoided answering questions about Taiwan Saturday by pretending not to catch the question a Hong Kong reporter asked repeatedly.

“Will the WHO reconsider Taiwan’s membership?” asked Yvonne Tong.

Her question was met with an awkward silence prompting a “hello?” from the interviewer.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear your question, Yvonne,” said Aylward.

“Let me repeat the question,” Yvonne said back.

“No, that’s okay. Let’s move on to another one then,” said Aylward.

When Yvonne refused, Aylward ended the interview and logged off. After reconnecting, Yvonne asked about Taiwan again, and Aylward declined to discuss the topic.

“We’ve already talked about China, and you know, when you look across all the different areas of China, they’ve actually all done quite a good job, so with that, I’d like to thank you very much for inviting us to participate and good luck as you go forward with the battle in Hong Kong.”
[FULL  STORY]

The Province
Date: March 27, 2020
By: David Staples, Edmonton Journal

Opinion 

Teacher Kelly Holtz still teaches English lessons every school day to his students. This is because Holtz doesn’t live in Canada but in Taiwan, one of the few democratic states in the world that hasn’t been devastated by COVID-19.

“The pandemic hasn’t interrupted my daily life here,” said Holtz, who grew up in Camrose, in an e-mail interview. “I still go out every day to buy tea, take my son to kindergarten and pick up my daughter from elementary school, where there’s a massive gathering of parents/grandparents at the school gates. When I walk past the local fast-food restaurants there are still lineups 20 people long at peak hours … The street market downstairs is still packed with people in the mornings. No wet markets here, by the way.”

Kelly Holtz, a Canadian teacher who grew up in Camrose and teaches in Taiwan and is the Beer League Heroes blogger writing about the Edmonton Oilers, poses with his wife Josephine Huang, daughter Sue and son Logan. Supplied photo Supplied

Schools and businesses are still open in Taiwan. This comes despite the fact that Taiwan was expected to be the country second hardest hit by the virus, mainly because so many Taiwanese citizens live, work and holiday in mainland China, 130 km across the South China Sea from the island nation of 23 million.

In Canada, we have 4,043 COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths, with large number of cases coming from “community” transmission, where it’s not known who infected the sick individual. In Taiwan, there’s been just 252 cases and two deaths, but no community spread of the disease. Each case has been tracked back to an incoming traveller.    [FULL  STORY]

Projects will include improving water safety in India, teaching orphans Chinese in Africa

Taiwan News
Date:\ 2020/03/28
By:  Central News Agency

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has announced that it will work with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on projects that provide assistance to disadvantaged groups, especially children, in Africa, India and other countries.

One of the projects, which involves digging wells, building water tanks and promoting water safety awareness in India, is expected to reduce the number of local residents who fall ill from drinking contaminated water, MOFA said in a press release Friday evening (March 27).

The project will be carried out with Good Neighbors Taiwan, which was established in July 2019 to support vulnerable children and high-risk families in developing countries, according to MOFA.

Another project, in cooperation with Pu-Hsein Educational Foundation and Amitofo Care Center African Executive Association, will help African orphans learn Chinese as their second-language to enhance their competitiveness in the future. The education program by the two Buddhist charity organizations, which began in 2013, has since benefited more than 9,000 African children and youths.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/28/2020
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) All flight crews will be provided with protective gear from April 1 to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Saturday.

The crews will have to wear surgical masks, goggles, protective clothing and gloves — the same equipment given to medical personnel — according to Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.

Chen said the CECC will also come up with guidelines for passengers, who will be punished if they break the rules.

Currently, passengers can bring their own protective gear, including alcohol hand sanitizers of no more than 100 milliliters, the CECC said, cautioning that they cannot change seats without notifying the flight attendants.    [FULL  STORY]

INSURANCE CLASS BATTLE: The university’s Student Affairs Office asked that footage of an alleged fight between a professor and a student be turned over to it

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 29, 2020
By: Rachel Lin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

National Chengchi University (NCCU) and the Ministry of Education are investigating an alleged fight between a professor and a student over a disagreement over wing chun, a Chinese martial art, the university said yesterday.

A post on a Facebook page used by NCCU students said that during a lecture on insurance law, a student told the professor that “wing chun is only used for close-quarters combat and can only best farmers.”

Notable practitioners of wing chun include Ip Man (葉問) and Bruce Lee (李小龍).The professor asked the student to spar with him and the student was given the first opportunity to strike, the Facebook post said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 27 March, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

US President Donald Trump has signed the TAIPEI Act into law. The act had earlier passed both houses of the US Congress unanimously.

The act is designed to help Taiwan keep its diplomatic allies in the face of Chinese pressure. Since 2016, eight allies have broken off ties with Taiwan in favor of ties with Beijing.

Under the act, the US may reward countries that stick with Taiwan with an increased diplomatic presence or expanded assistance. It can also reduce or terminate its diplomatic presence in countries that move to downgrade their ties with Taiwan, and limit or cut off aid to them as well.
[FULL  STORY]

Medical experts worry country’s hospitals will be overwhelmed should cases soar

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/27
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Medical experts in Taiwan are raising the alarm over how strained the country's resources will be in the event of a larger spike in coronavirus cases, with some suggesting the country should order a complete lockdown to stem the tide of imported cases.

Shih Jin-chung (施景中), an obstetrician at the prominent National Taiwan University Hospital has expressed concern about a shortage of negative pressure isolation rooms, which are designed to contain airborne contaminants, as those under quarantine in Taiwan reach 40,000. He called for stricter measures to prevent human movement, from a comprehensive lockdown to mandatory quarantine at designated accommodations for Taiwanese returning from abroad.

Taiwan has counted 267 COVID-19 cases as of Friday (March 27), with a steady double-digit rise of mostly imported infections every day over the past two weeks.

The situation is alarming, according to Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權), dean of National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health (CPH). He cautioned that the country’s medical system could be overwhelmed by a sudden influx of Wuhan virus patients needing special care if the number of new cases exceeds 100 a day, wrote Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/27/2020
By: Chen Yun-yu and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced Friday that it is partnering with the non-profit Taiwan FactCheck Center on a series of Facebook posts to combat disinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative, called "COVID-19: Just the Facts," provides the de facto American embassy's response to topics identified by the Taiwan FactCheck Center as the most frequent subjects of disinformation.

The goal is to correct false narratives being spread by "actors hoping to exploit the current crisis to stoke anxiety and division within societies, deflect blame away from irresponsible actors, and erode public confidence in democratic institutions," the institute said in a Facebook post.

The first post of the series, which focuses on the origins of the pandemic, criticizes Chinese authorities who it said "actively censored and punished journalists and whistleblowers like Li Wenliang."    [FULL  STORY]