Page Two

New constitution plan outlined

REFERENDUM GOAL: The Taiwan New Constitution Foundation said that people would be asked whether they support a constitution reform process being started

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Two referendum proposals on drafting a new constitution are to be sent to the Central Election Commission on Thursday, a pro-independence group said yesterday.

Taiwan New Constitution Foundation executive director Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正) said that the initiatives have so far garnered more than 3,000 signatures apiece, surpassing the required threshold of 1,931 as stipulated in the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which sets the threshold at 0.01 percent of the electorate in the most recent presidential election — which would be 19.31 million eligible voters.

If the commission approves the proposals, the foundation would have to collect more than 289,667 signatures in the second stage of the three-step process to hold a referendum, he said.

A referendum would be on Aug. 28 next year if the commission verifies that the signatures have exceeded the threshold for a referendum, Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

Why Hank from Tigertail looks so familiar

Looper
Date: April 25, 2020
By: Mike Floorwalker

Tigertail debuted on Netflix on April 10, 2020 to widespread acclaim. Written and directed by former Parks and Recreation scribe Alan Yang in his feature directorial debut, Tigertail tells a moving and deeply personal tale of the immigrant experience (Yang himself is the son of Taiwanese immigrants) that has resonated with viewers of all backgrounds.

The film follows Pin-Jui (Hong-Chi Lee), an individualist young man who leaves behind his life (and love) in Taiwan to move to America in hopes of a better future. As Pin-Jui grows older (this version played in the film by Tzi Ma) — living in an arranged marriage to Zhenzhen (Fiona Fu) without true love or care, working a tedious job, and struggling to connect with his daughter Angela (Christine Ko) — he knows he must find himself again. In the past lies Pin-Jui's future — one he hopes will be filled with happiness.

There are a few well-known faces among the cast of Tigertail, but one in particular is likely to be quite familiar — if perhaps a bit difficult to place. The character of Hank, Zhenzhen's new husband after she and Pin-Jui divorce, is a relatively minor one. However, if you've watched television in the last four decades or so, you've definitely seen the actor who plays him before.   [FULL  STORY]

Web over virus: Taiwan sommelier takes wine tasting online

Reuters
Date: April 25, 2020

Peter Petrus, 37, a Taiwanese sommelier, conducts an online wine tasting class from his studio, during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Taipei, Taiwan, April 24, 2020. . REUTERS/Ann Wang

TAIPEI (Reuters) – A young Taiwanese sommelier is taking his wine tasting classes online to keep his business afloat, as social distancing rules to contain the spread of the new coronavirus prevents large gatherings.

Live streaming from his studio in Taipei, Peter Petrus, the professional name he uses for his business, teaches the art of wine-tasting online to people across the island.

The containment measures have had a big impact on business, Petrus told Reuters.

“So I started contemplating if there might be a way to work around this situation – at the end of the day the company has to keep going.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan puts together national team for coronavirus vaccine and treatment research

Government-led task force to better coordinate resources in battle against virus

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/24
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government-sponsored National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has established a “national team” for facilitated development of vaccines and treatments in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Sytwu Huey-kang (司徒惠康), vice president of NHRI and a key figure in Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), noted in a news briefing Friday (April 24) that the task force was put together around a month ago. Many companies have applied to join the group, which coordinates resources and expertise from the public and private sectors, wrote UDN.

According to Sytwu, a major role of the platform is to incorporate P3 laboratories across the country, including institutes affiliated with NHRI, Academia Sinica, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and National Cheng Kung University. These labs are defined as biosafety level 3 facilities, which carry out experiments with microbes able to cause lethal disease via inhalation.

The task force has also put in place a database for biological samples used for COVID-19 related research. Given biosafety concerns associated with handling nasal and throat swabs, the database primarily collects blood samples, with 74 samples available now.    [FULL  STORY]

President attends memorial for Catholic priest

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/25/2020
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Matthew Mazzetta

President Tsai Ing-wen (right) presents a framed plaque honoring late Catholic priest Brendan O’Connell’s contribution to Taiwan’s special education services.

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended a memorial in Tainan Saturday for Catholic priest Brendan O'Connell (甘惠忠), who died April 14 in New York at the age of 84 after spending more than 50 years developing special education services in Taiwan.

At a ceremony hosted by O'Connell's Bethlehem Foundation that was attended by Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), Tsai praised O'Connell as an "authentic Taiwanese" and issued a presidential order of commendation in his honor.

Tsai noted that O'Connell arrived in Taiwan at a young age and set about learning not only Mandarin, but Taiwanese, the Hakka dialect and the aboriginal Atayal language.

After seeing that many parents were having trouble caring for developmentally challenged children, he devoted himself to special education, founding the Leren Center in Kaohsiung and the St. Teresa Opportunity Center in Tainan, she said.    [FULL  STORY]

Most cat owners not alert to kidney disease: survey

PET CARE: Chronic kidney disease is a common cause of death among domestic cats, so cats older than seven should go for a checkup at the vet every six months

Taiopei Times
Date: Apr 26, 2020
By: Liu Pei-fen and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

About 90 percent of cat owners are not familiar with chronic kidney disease in cats, the Taiwanese Society of Feline Medicine said on Wednesday, adding that signs and symptoms of the disease include increased water consumption, frequent urination, lethargy and weight loss.

From 2012 to 2014, chronic kidney disease was the top or second leading cause of death for domestic cats, a survey conducted by the National Taiwan University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Taipei City Animal Protection Office showed.

To raise more awareness, the society last month conducted another survey of 640 cat owners nationwide to investigate how much they know about the disease, a health risk that increases with age.

About 60 percent of respondents believed that increased water consumption and urination are good, the society said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan releases short film to promote its medical prowess

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 April, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

The foreign ministry promotes short film “Looking Up Again” (Photo courtesy of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The foreign ministry has released a short film about a man from Guam who regained his health after seeking medical care in Taiwan.

The film is called “Looking Up Again”, and the foreign ministry released it on Thursday. It features Ted Nelson, who suffered for nine years from spine and hip problems that made it difficult for him to walk, drive, or sleep.    [FULL  STORY]

David Staples: Alberta going with Taiwan plan, not Swedish experiment, to battle COVID-19

Calgary Herald
Date: April 24, 2020
By: David Staples  •  Edmonton Journal

Saskatchewan will start a careful and phased reopening in May, beginning with golf courses, hair

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks at a COVID-19 news update at the legislature in Regina on Wednesday March 18, 2020. MICHAEL BELL / The Canadian Press

salons and retail stores.

What about Alberta? Premier Jason Kenney and his emergency cabinet are digging into this question.

David Staples: Alberta going with Taiwan plan, not Swedish experiment, to battle COVID-19

Should Alberta follow Saskatchewan’s lead?

The spread of COVID-19 in Alberta and Saskatchewan was tracking closely, said Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw on Thursday, but then Alberta had two significant outbreaks at huge meat-processing plants.

This has led to an uptick in hospitalization and ICU numbers in Alberta, although the province is still well below where Alberta Health forecasters predicted it would be if there were no restrictions, Hinshaw said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan puts together national team for coronavirus vaccine and treatment research

Government-led task force to better coordinate resources in battle against virus

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/24
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government-sponsored National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has established a “national team” for facilitated development of vaccines and treatments in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Sytwu Huey-kang (司徒惠康), vice president of NHRI and a key figure in Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), noted in a news briefing Friday (April 24) that the task force was put together around a month ago. Many companies have applied to join the group, which coordinates resources and expertise from the public and private sectors, wrote UDN.

According to Sytwu, a major role of the platform is to incorporate P3 laboratories across the country, including institutes affiliated with NHRI, Academia Sinica, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and National Cheng Kung University. These labs are defined as biosafety level 3 facilities, which carry out experiments with microbes able to cause lethal disease via inhalation.

The task force has also put in place a database for biological samples used for COVID-19 related research. Given biosafety concerns associated with handling nasal and throat swabs, the database primarily collects blood samples, with 74 samples available now.    [FULL  STORY]

CORONAVIRUS/Tsai discusses lessons learned from 2003 SARS hospital lockdown

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/24/2020
By: Flor Wang, K.H. Wen and S.F. Wang

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) On the 17th anniversary of a lockdown imposed on a Taipei hospital amid a

(CNA file photo)

severe SARS outbreak, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday urged unity between the government and society to combat the spread of the COVID-19 conoravirus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China in December.

"If SARS taught the Taiwanese anything, the lesson was that we should be more united and set aside our political differences in the face of epidemics," Tsai said in a Facebook post.

"The central and local governments and the people should work together to fight epidemics,"she wrote.

The sudden closure of Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital on April 24, 2003 amid the SARS outbreak, with more than 1,000 medical staff, patients, their relatives and others inside, triggered widespread panic across the country, she recalled.    [FULL  STORY]