Taipei Times
Date: May 01, 2020
By: Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan’s responsible and transparent handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the nation a leader in the Indo-Pacific region’s fight against the virus, unlike China’s disinformation campaign, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Robert Destro told the opening of a virtual workshop cohosted by Taiwan, the US and Japan on Wednesday.

The workshop — held under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), which was first initiated by Taiwan and the US in 2015 — addressed how fake news about the coronavirus is spread online and what efforts can be taken to strengthen the ability of media organizations in the Indo-Pacific region to spot fake news.

The forum was attended by Destro, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi and Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳), as well as nearly 80 experts from six other countries in the region and representatives from non-governmental organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“It is no secret that Taiwan is leading the Indo-Pacific region in its handling of COVID-19. You are serving as an inspiration for the world and we are grateful for your leadership,” Destro said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the US government from his home in Arlington, Virginia.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 29 April, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung is warning people to take precautionary measures when traveling over

the upcoming long weekend.

Wednesday is the fourth consecutive day during which Taiwan has not recorded any new cases of COVID-19.

The total number of cases Taiwan has recorded stands at 429. So far, six have died of the disease, while 311 other patients have made a full recovery and been released from quarantine.
[FULL  STORY]

Timber came from Formosan cypress, other endangered species endemic to Taiwan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/29
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Law enforcement in Hsinchu County arrested 11 people on Tuesday (April 28) for illegal logging and timber trafficking, confiscating approximately 50 tons of valuable wood from endangered trees.

A total of 10 busts occurred across six cities and counties on Tuesday, including at the residence of the main suspect, in national forests, and in a garage where stolen wood was kept. The trees the wood came from included Chamaecyparis formosensis, more commonly known as the Formosan cypress, Chamaecyparis taiwanensis, and Calocedrus formosana, all of which are endemic to Taiwan and have been classified as endangered or vulnerable species.

Roughly 50 tons of timber were confiscated, along with cell phones, account books, and other objects used by the group. It is estimated that the value of the stolen wood surpasses tens of millions of NT dollars.

Some of the wood has been turned into pieces of craftwork and other products, proof of organized operations spanning logging, wood processing, and trading. Police had been investigating the case for about six months, and the 11 suspects have been charged with organized crime, larceny, receiving stolen property, and violating the Forestry Act.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/29/2020
By: Flor Wang, Liu Chien-bang, Liang Pei-chi and Hou Wen-ting

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said Wednesday that "lax oversight" on the part of the city government had contributed to deadly fire at a popular karaoke club in the city last Sunday.

"We will conduct an internal investigation and those in charge will be held accountable for any negligence," Ko said, in a grilling session with city councilors about the fire at Cashbox Partyworld KTV on Linsen North Road, which claimed the lives of five patrons and left scores injured.

During the session, Kuomintang (KMT) city councilors asked how the fire had occurred in a building that had passed all of the 20 safety checks carried out there since 2018.

They demanded that municipal authorities be held accountable and improve their performance on the job.    [FULL  STORY]

FLAWED LOGIC: The app previously failed to accurately present crowd sizes at tourist attractions because it was not taking into consideration their maximum capacity

Taipei Times
Date:  Apr 30, 2020
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

As the nation is tomorrow to begin the three-day International Workers’ Day weekend, lawmakers on the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee yesterday passed a motion asking the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to launch a mobile app to regulate crowds at nearly 300 popular tourist attractions nationwide only after the app passes stress tests at randomly selected hot spots before the holiday.

Functions of the “Freeway 1968” app, which previously only helped motorists avoid congestion on freeways, have received public scrutiny after they were upgraded to allow travelers to monitor vehicular and foot traffic at attractions during holiday weekends.

The changes are part of the government’s plan to allow the public to enjoy their holiday travel plans without compromising the nation’s hard-won disease prevention achievements over the past two months.

As of yesterday, the nation had not reported a confirmed COVID-19 case in four consecutive days or any domestic infections in 17 days.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan Internartinal
Date: 28 April, 2020
By: Natalie Tso

Taiwan’s major venues are still open but there are restrictions to ensure social distancing. The Taipei Zoo on Tuesday began a real-name registration system to monitor those who enter the zoo. 

That’s a meerkat. It’s not a scene from the Lion King. It’s the Taipei Zoo. Starting Tuesday, if you want to visit them or the other animals, you need to register your real name . You can use a QR code or write your contact information down. This visitor said all you have to do is give your name, phone number and the names of those in your group. It was quick and easy. 
[FULL  STORY]

Prensa Latina
Date: April 28, 2020 

Beijing, Apr 28 (Prensa Latina) China made a strong warning to Taiwan on Tuesday about the serious danger for regional peace and the population posed by the development of secessionist activities, like the organization of a constitutional referendum.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the office of the Council of State (Cabinet) for Taiwan affairs, rejected the recollection of signatures by some organizations to promote that kind of plebiscite.

'Its purpose is obvious. The independence of Taiwan is contrary to the historic trend and will end in a deadlock,' the spokeswoman noted.

Zhu warned that the separatist actions will seriously damage the common interests of the population of Taiwan and mainland China, threaten peace and will only push that territory into 'a dangerous abyss' with serious consequences for its own residents.

'We will never allow anyone, any organization or any party (…) to separate any portion of Chinese soil from China,' said Zhu, who stressed Beijing's strong will, confidence and capacity to deal with any effort in that regard. jg/oda/ymr    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese rush to take part in global humanitarian aid project as nation reports zero new coronavirus cases once again

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/28
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

More than 120,000 Taiwanese have participated in "Taiwan can help, Health for all" mask donation project.  (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Less than 24 hours after the mask donation "Taiwan can help, Health for all" (護臺灣，助世界) program was launched, more than 120,000 Taiwanese have donated their masks overseas to countries hard-hit by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

During the daily coronavirus press conference on Tuesday (April 28), Health Minister and Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that there were no new COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row. He also noted that the island nation had not recorded a single case of local transmission since March 13 and that 307 of the total 429 confirmed patients have been released from hospital isolation, reported Storm Media.

Chen pointed out that the overseas mask donation program has been well received and a huge number of Taiwanese citizens have taken part in the global humanitarian aid project. As of press time, the "Taiwan can help, Health for all" program has collected more than one million surgical masks from 120,343 donors.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:\ 04/28/2020
By: Liu Shih-i and Ko Lin

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court on Tuesday raised the bail for the three men who allegedly carried out a premeditated attack on Lam Wing-kee (林榮基), founder of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay Books, in Taipei last week.

Lam, who fled to Taiwan amid fears of Chinese persecution, was splashed with red paint on April 21 by an attacker at a coffee shop in Taipei's Zhongshan District, just days before the opening his new bookshop in the city.

The suspect and two alleged accomplices in the attack were tracked by police and arrested in Kaohsiung the next day.

According to police, the three suspects are a 51-year old man surnamed Cheng (鄭), and two brothers, aged 27 and 33, surnamed Tseng (曾).    [FULL  STORY]