World now aware of Taiwan, in need of its help: Health Minister Chen Shih-chung

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/19
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following the World Health Organization's (WHO) disappointing decision to bar Taiwan from participating in the World Health Assembly (WHA) for the fourth year in a row, Japanese representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi (泉裕泰) said Tuesday (May 19) that the Japanese government will continue to push for the island nation's inclusion.

As Taiwan was once again denied access to the WHA at a meeting that opened Monday (May 18), international leaders have voiced their discontent with the WHO's politically-driven decision. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also warned in a statement that the WHO's exclusion of Taiwan due to Chinese pressure has "further damaged" the organization's credibility.

In a post published on the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JPEA) Facebook Tuesday, Hiroyasu pointed out that Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato had advocated for Taiwan's recognition during the WHA meeting as well as urged participating nations to study its pandemic prevention measures. He said there was no reason for the WHO to deny Taiwan's membership and that Japan will not hold back its support for its East Asian neighbor.

At the end of the post, Hiroyasu added the hashtags "Leave No One Behind," "Taiwan Can Help," and "Taiwan Is Helping."    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/19/2020
By: Wang Shu-fen and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The suspension of all outbound and inbound tours imposed on Taiwanese travel agencies will be further extended until the end of June, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, the Tourism Bureau said Tuesday.

The ban, which began on March 19, was originally scheduled to last until the end of April. It was then extended until May 31.

The further extension of the ban by one month is due to the still grave COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the Tourism Bureau said.

Although Taiwan has seen no new COVID-19 cases for 12 consecutive days, the disease has infected more than 4.8 million people globally, and the death toll has surpassed 317,000.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 20, 2020
By: Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNA

Rights groups yesterday rallied in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, urging the government to issue a monthly subsidy of NT$10,000 to each person with a disability so that they could maintain a normal life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The 1.18 million people with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged groups in Taiwan, but are also the most ignored,” said Cheng Long-shui (鄭龍水), a blind rights advocate who was a New Party legislator from 1996 to 2002.

Cheng, convener of the Save the Disabled and Disadvantaged in Taiwan Action Coalition, led nearly 50 people with disabilities in the rally.

People with disabilities have been among the worst affected by the pandemic and are in desperate need of the government’s support, he said, before getting on his knees in the directions of the Presidential Office Building, the Executive Yuan and the legislature.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 18 May, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday awarded outgoing Vice President Chen Chien-jen the Order of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Taiwan's highest civilian honor. 

Tsai thanked Chen for his contributions to Taiwan, including leading the pension reform committee, advancing human rights, and interacting with religious groups. The president also spoke about Chen’s visits to Taiwan's diplomatic allies and the key role he played in helping Taiwan contain the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Tsai said, “As a world-renowned epidemiologist, Vice President Chen offered his expertise to our team. It is because of his expertise and the Central Epidemic Command Center that he established when he was health minister, that Taiwan has been able to handle the outbreak well and make a contribution to the world.”

Chen also spoke at Monday’s ceremony. He said that all of the honor belongs to the people of Taiwan and to his wife. He also praised President Tsai for her leadership, describing her as a good shepherd, leading the people to green pastures and quiet waters.     [FULL  STORY]

Legitimate OTT platforms see traffic spike after closure of Taiwan's largest piracy streaming site

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/18
By: Chris Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A number of Taiwanese over-the-top (OTT) media platforms have launched an online campaign to encourage viewers to choose authorized streaming services when they look for entertainment online.

Last month, Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau teamed up with the Motion Picture Association of America to crack down on Taiwan's largest illegal streaming site, 8maple.ru. Since then, web traffic for many local OTT platforms has increased by over 50 percent, according to LTN.

KKTV, an OTT platform from KKBOX Group, said that hundreds of illegal streaming sites were shuttered after the crackdown on 8maple.ru.

Legal OTT platforms see their newfound surge in traffic as evidence of how the media industry has been sabotaged by piracy. Taiwan loses an estimated NT$28.3 billion (US$943.17 million) due to copyright infringement yearly.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/18/2020
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has expressed dissatisfaction that Taiwan was not invited to attend the virtual World Health Assembly (WHA) that began Monday despite significant support worldwide.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses deep regret and strong dissatisfaction that the World Health Organization (WHO) Secretariat has yielded to pressure from the Chinese government and continues to disregard the right to health of the 23 million people of Taiwan," Wu said at a press conference.

Fourteen of Taiwan's diplomatic allies submitted a proposal for the issue of Taiwan's exclusion to be put on the WHA agenda, but it is unlikely the issue will be discussed because the agenda has been significantly shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wu said.

Taiwan will wait until later in the year when meetings are expected to be conducted normally to promote its bid, following suggestions from its allies and like-minded nations, Wu said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 19, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Acting National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) yesterday denied that he

was scolded by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for mismanaging a case involving Taiwan Optical Platform, adding that the commission is an independent agency that is ruled by consensus.

At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee, lawmakers asked Chen about files sent to the media in a suspected cyberattack on the Presidential Office. The office has said that the files were doctored.

Among the files, one said that Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) had allegedly proposed that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) take back the right to make policy decisions, adding that she should not let Su have the final say in an NCC personnel matter.

The files alleged that Su scolded Chen Yaw-shyang for mishandling a case involving Taiwan Optical Platform’s plan to establish a TV news station, and that Su only kept him in charge of the NCC because Chen Yaw-shyang would obey him.    [FULL  STORY]

rthk,hk
Date: 2020-05-18

More than a dozen countries have told the World Health Organisation they want Taiwan's participation on the agenda of an assembly this week. File photo: Reuters

The World Health Organization (WHO) is to raise the question of Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA), which opens virtually on Monday, before one of its committees.

Taiwan is currently excluded from the WHO but in the midst of escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing around the novel coronavirus, the administration of President Trump has repeatedly called for the island's participation at the WHA in spite of opposition from China.

Many heads of state, government and ministers are expected to attend the two-day virtual meeting on the pandemic which the WHO hopes will take a physical form later in the year.

Nearly 15 countries, including Belize, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands and Honduras, have written to the director general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asking that the question of Taiwan's participation be added to the agenda.    [FULL  STORY]

History News Network
Date: 5/17/2020
By: Keith Clark

In early April, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus requested “please don’t politicize this virus.” Tedros made his remarks after U.S. President Donald J. Trump threatened to withdraw funding from the organization, a threat Trump made reality to the dismay of leaders around the world. States around the globe are dealing with the outbreak of the worst viral infection since the 1918 Flu. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has upended societies from where it originated in Wuhan, China, to New York City, United States. Trump’s decision to cut funding for the WHO in the midst of a pandemic was political theater, which Tedros noted and sought to prevent. Tedros’s critique that leaders not politicize the COVID-19 was valid, but also dismissive of the WHO’s political role.

Towards the end of April, Taiwan has had 429 people infected with COVID-19 and 6 die. Researchers at Johns Hopkins originally forecast Taiwan would have one of the highest number of infections outside China. How has an island of nearly 24 million that is a global transportation hub separated from China by 180 kilometers, and just over 1,000 kilometers from where the disease originated, managed to contain the spread of COVID-19 so effectively? To answer that question, one cannot turn to the WHO. This was dramatically revealed when a Hong Kong journalist asked WHO Assistant General-Director Bruce Aylward over Skype about Taiwan’s response to the virus. Dr. Aylward first pretended to not hear the question, then ended the call when asked again. When the journalist called back to get an answer about Taiwan, she was told they’d already discussed China.
FULL  STORY]

More than 90% of Taiwanese agree legislation has had no impact on their lives, according to survey

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/17
By: Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Supporters of gay marriage burst into cheers as Taiwan's legislature legalizes same-sex marriage on May 17, 2019. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Saturday (May 17) marked the first anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took to social media to call for a more diverse and liberal-minded society.

Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage after the legislature passed a bill exactly a year ago. “One year has passed, and values that people want to protect still stand,” said Tsai, adding, “At the same time, we have allowed more people to have happiness.”

There remain a lot of government measures that need to be adjusted following the passage of the legislation on same-sex marriage, acknowledged Tsai. She added the Presidential Office is making small changes in the hope of fostering a more progressive society that embraces diversity and openness.

Tsai was referring to a modification on the Presidential Office’s website, where newlyweds can apply for an automated congratulation letter from the president and vice president, without having to choose from gender-specific titles, such as Mr. and Mrs., to refer to themselves.    [FULL  STORY]