Radio Taiwan International
Date:\ 06 March, 2020
By: Shirley Lin
Chiayi prisoners help make cloth masks
True or not, the idea seems to be catching on, and prisoners are being brought in to ensure that supplies of cloth masks remain steady. [FULL STORY]
Important lessons on how to tackle an epidemic.
ZME Science
Date: March 6, 2020
By: Mihai Andrei
Why didn’t Taiwan become a coronavirus cluster? They were prepared and acted quickly and transparently. Image credits: Remi Yuan.
The lessons from Taiwan, presented in a new case study, are instructive for other countries — both for this outbreak and for future ones.
Why didn’t Taiwan become a coronavirus cluster? They were prepared and acted quickly and transparently. Image credits: Remi Yuan.
In April 2003, the Taiwan Department of Health was notified of seven cases of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infecting healthcare workers (HCWs) at a large municipal hospital in Taipei. By the end of the outbreak, Taiwan recorded 483 infections, with a fatality rate of 12%.
The Taiwan government looked at these events closely and learned its lesson. Less than one year after the SARS outbreak, a National Health Command Center (NHCC) was established. The NHCC is meant to serve as a disaster management center command point, coordinating and advising authorities at a regional and central level, so that in the case of a new outbreak, no time and resources are wasted. [FULL STORY]
103 out of 147 people who came in contact with Australian musician diagnosed with Wuhan virus quarantined in Taiwan
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/06
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
:(CNA photo)
On Thursday news broke the 58-year-old Australian composer Brett Dean tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide on Tuesday (March 3), following a trip on EVA Air flight BR-315 from Taiwan to Brisbane in Queensland. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Thursday said he performed at the National Concert Hall (NCH) in Taipei on Friday night (Feb. 28) and on Sunday afternoon (March 1), before boarding the EVA Air flight on Monday (March 2).
Health Minister and CECC Head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said Dean departed London on EVA Air Flight BR-68 on Feb. 22, transited through Bangkok, and landed in Taiwan on Feb. 23. On the evening of Feb. 27, he visited a clinic after he began to develop a cough and a runny nose.
On Friday (March 6), Dean's agency Intermusic announced on Twitter the composer, violist, and conductor had been diagnosed with the disease on Monday and is receiving treatment in Adelaide. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Dean is being treated and undergoing quarantine at The Royal Adelaide Hospital. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/06/2020
By: Lee Hsin-Yin
The FormoSat-7 satellite at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25, 2019. (CNA file photo)
Every day at 10 a.m., the NSPO will release the meteorological data of the previous day at https://tacc.cwb.gov.tw/v2/download.html, which is expected to strengthen global weather forecasting capabilities, said program director Vicky Chu (朱崇惠).
The Taiwan-made six-satellite constellation, which carries sensors developed by the U.S., provide data from about 4,000 locations between latitudes 50 degrees north and 50 degrees south, Chu said.
Given that three to four times more data is being collected from the FormoSat-7 than from its predecessor, FormoSat-3, which Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau and other global weather centers currently depend on to a large extent, it will give forecasters a much greater sense of the atmosphere, she said. [FULL STORY]
Taipei Times
Date: Sat, Mar 07, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA
The latest edition of US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report ranks Taiwan as the second-freest nation in Asia, with a total score of 93 points, the same as last year.
Taiwan garnered 37 out of 40 points in political rights and 56 of 60 in civil liberties, and maintained its “free” rating, the democracy watchdog’s Web site showed.
The report is to be published on Wednesday next week in Washington. It designates nations and territories as “free,” “partly free” and “not free” based on political rights and civil liberties.
Taiwan was second only to Japan (96 points) in Asia and ranked 25th among 195 nations and 15 territories assessed, the Web site showed. [FULL STORY]
Radio Taiwan Internatinal
Date: 05 March, 2020
By: John Van Trieste
Freedom House has ranked Taiwan as Asia’s second-freest place in the 2020 edition of its annual “Freedom in the World” report.
Taiwan scored 93 out of a possible 100 points, putting it second only to Japan in the Asian region.
China received only ten points. The erosion of democracy in Hong Kong led the territory to lose four points during the past year, with a final score of 55 points. [FULL STORY]
CGTN
Date: 05-Mar-2020
China on Thursday expressed its resolute opposition to the approval of the TAIPEI Act, calling the move a severe violation of the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and urged the U.S. to handle the issue properly with concrete actions.
The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed S. 1678, the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act. The act, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, intended to strengthen "Taiwan's position on the international stage" as a "key ally in the region" and encourage allies and partners of the U.S. to "strengthen their diplomatic ties with Taipei."
The act was resolutely opposed by the Chinese side as it not only breaches the one-China principle but also the international law and the basic norms of international relations, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters on Thursday.
China has long been opposed to any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S., Zhao said, urging the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, as they are the political foundation of the bilateral relations.
[FULL STORY]
Furloughed workers participating in training program will receive subsidy of up to NT$18,960 per month
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/05
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
(CNA photo)
The package has a total budget of NT$4.13 billion, aimed to benefit furloughed workers, the unemployed, businesses, and micro-business entrepreneurs, CNA reported.
The package includes NT$1 billion for a salary subsidy program for furloughed employees. The program will guarantee that they are paid 50 percent of their salary loss based on their insured salary, the report said.
For example, a furloughed worker with an insured salary of NT$45,899 would normally receive a minimum wage of NT$23,800, which means they have lost NT$22,099, according to Shih Chen-yang (施貞仰), deputy director-general of the Workforce Development Agency. Therefore, under the program, that worker would receive a salary subsidy equal to 50 percent of their lost salary (NT$22,099), which amounts to NT$1,1000 a month. Furloughed workers will be eligible for this salary subsidy for three to six months. [FULL STORY]
Focus Taiwan
Date: 03/05/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan, Yu Hsiao-han, Wang Shu-fen and Evelyn Kao
National Concert Hall (Photo courtesy of a private contributor)
The man, a musician who performed in the National Concert Hall in Taipei on the evening of Feb. 28 and the afternoon of March 1, was confirmed by the Australian authorities as a new coronavirus case after he disembarked from EVA Air's BR315 flight that departed from Taipei on March 2, the domestic airline said, citing a notice issued by the Australian health authorities.
The CECC said it has been investigating the 58-year-old man, who departed from London Feb. 22 and entered Taiwan the next day after transiting through Bangkok.
He sought medical attention at a clinic on Feb. 27 after developing a cough and a runny nose before leaving Taiwan Monday on the EVA Airways flight, according to the CECC.
[FULL STORY]
SCENARIOS NEEDED: Local governments, which are in charge of fining those who break quarantines, should strictly enforce the rules, Premier Su Tseng-chang said
Taipei Times
Date: Mar 06, 2020
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter
Su made the remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting.
People subject to quarantine who willfully leave should be subject to a hefty fine and local governments, which are in charge of handing them out, should strictly enforce the rules, the premier said.
A payment deadline and a penalty for when people fail to pay on time needs to be set, Su said.
[FULL STORY]
