‘NOT CHINA’: Taiwan can provide valuable professional and practical contributions that the WHO can use in assisting other countries’ disease-prevention efforts

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 22, 2020
By: Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Lawmakers across party lines yesterday issued a joint statement calling for Taiwan’s participation in

the WHO and its decisionmaking body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), and urging the global health body to make a distinction between Taiwan and China.

Given Taiwan’s proximity to China, the nation should be allowed to participate in the WHO and the WHA to safeguard public health and allow it to work more closely with other nations in containing COVID-19, the statement said.

The WHO has a vision of a world where all people can attain the highest possible standard of health, and that no one should be left behind in the pursuit of the universal value of guaranteeing health for all, it said.

As such, the WHO should resolutely defend its mission and not allow China to compromise the rights of Taiwanese to enjoy the highest level of health and sanitation because of political reasons, or erroneously designate Taiwan as part of China, which has prompted some countries to impose entry or port call bans on Taiwan, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
20 February, 2020
By: Jake Chen

“Your Face”, a 2018 experimental documentary directed by Golden Horse-winning Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, is set to launch in cinemas in Japan.

Tsai made the announcement on his Facebook fan page. He said that the film’s Japanese composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, played a hand in promoting his film to Japanese cinemas.  [FULL  STORY]

Safety At Sea
Date: February 20, 2020
By: Martina Li, correspondent

A Myanmarese seafarer died in a horrific accident after falling from a tanker docked at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port.

In the incident, which took place on 15 February, the 31-year-old man was coming down a rope ladder from Hong Ching, a 5,000 dwt products tanker that was built in 1992.

He is believed to have lost his balance and as he fell, both his arms were somehow ripped off by the rope ladder.

The master of a passing work boat dived into the waters to pull out the injured seafarer and the Taiwan Coast Guard sent two vessels to the scene. However, the seafarer was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.    [FULL  STORY]

Greenhouse gas emissions remain stable, but many hurdles remain to banning fossil fuel-powered vehicles

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/20
By: Chris Chang,

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The European Union (EU) repositioned itself as a world leader on climate issues last December by announcing the European Green Deal and the goal to become climate neutral by 2050.

In the following decades, the EU will cut 90 percent of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport, ensure all packaging is reusable or recyclable, and guarantee that all member states receive fair allocations during their energy transitions. Promoting biodiversity and decreasing the use of pesticides will also be treated as priorities.

As the movement to counter climate change spreads across the world, is Taiwan also on the right track to develop without sacrificing the happiness of future generations?

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act is Taiwan's response to the climate target set by the Paris Agreement. The Act demands that the island nation diminish its GHG emissions to 20 percent of the 2005 levels by 2030 and 50 percent of the 2005 levels by 2050: a challenge requiring collective efforts across sectors.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:02/20/2020
By: Yu Hsiao-han and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Thursday issued a basic Level 1 travel alert for South Korea, advising travelers from Taiwan to exercise normal precautions while in the country, in light of a spike in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases there.

The travel advisory was issued in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus after South Korea confirmed it first death from the disease and a sharp increase in new cases, said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.

South Korea on Thursday reported its first coronavirus death and 53 new cases of the coronavirus in a single day, bringing its total to 104.    [FULL  STORY]

INSIGHT: Aside from launching a 10-book series, the government hopes to include Aboriginal views on history in the 12-year National Education Program

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 21, 2020
By: Jake Chung  /  Staff writer, with CNA

The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) said that it is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to

incorporate the 10 most important events in Aboriginal history into the 12-year National Education Program to give the younger generation an insight into these events from the perspective of Aborigines.

The council made the comments at a news conference on Wednesday to launch a 10-book series focused on historic events viewed through the eyes of Aborigines.

Experts and academics started work on the series in 2002, council Minister Icyang Parod said in a speech.

Members of the Presidential Office’s Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee and the council also collaborated on the series, Executive Yuan Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) told the news conference.    [FULL  STORY]

The scholar said that if traditional fever threshold of 38°C is used by schools across Taiwan to screen students, some infections may go undetected

Taiwan News
Date: 02020/02/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As children prepare to return to their studies, a scholar is recommending that schools across Taiwan use 37.5°C as a threshold for fever when screening students for potential infections of COVID-19, according to a Chinatimes report on Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Su Ta-chen (蘇大成), director at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at National Taiwan University (NTU), said that if the traditional fever threshold of 38°C is used, some infected students may go undetected, according to the report.

Therefore, Su suggested that schools lower the benchmark from 38°C to 37.5°C. Schools should stop students with body temperatures of 37.5°C or higher from attending class and refer them to a clinic or hospital to receive further screening and treatment, Su added.

In addition, secondary schools, elementary education, and kindergartens across Taiwan are scheduled to open on Feb. 25. However, as the new coronavirus continues to spread, the question of whether the schools should open as scheduled has been raised.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/18/2020
By: Chung Jung-feng, Huang Hsu-sheng, Wang Kuo-hung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is planning to produce face masks in Taiwan amid a supply shortage in the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic.

Hon Hai, known as Foxconn in the global market, said Monday that it already has a plan in place to set up a surgical mask production facility in New Taipei's Tucheng District, where the company is headquartered.

Hon Hai said the company has been in communication with raw material and production equipment suppliers, and expressed gratitude for assistance lent by the New Taipei city government, although it will be the central government that will have the final say on the matter, as masks are classed as medical equipment and therefore require proper certification.

While Hon Hai did not disclose how many face masks it will produce per day, local news media reported that operations at the new facility will start in March, with 10 production lines providing a capacity of 1 million masks per day.    [FULL  STORY]

ERROR: A designer who was contracted to create a poster to teach children about crosswalks used the wrong image for reference, the Taichung Police Department said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 19, 2020
By: Chang Jui-chen, Chang Ching-ya and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporters, with staff writer

The Taichung City Police Department is recalling thousands of traffic safety posters after a city

resident noticed that they depict what appeared to be a Chinese police officer.

The department six months ago commissioned a designer to create the posters, but did not notice the error until it was pointed out by the resident earlier this month, it said.

The department would investigate those responsible for the oversight and update the public on its actions this week, it said, adding that a committee would be formed to inspect all public documents produced by the department before they are released to the public.

The posters, which were intended to teach children how to safely cross the road, bears cartoon images of two children and a female police officer, along with the message: “Please use the crosswalk. Do not contravene traffic laws when crossing the road.”    [FULL  STORY]

The Drinks Business
Date: 17th February, 2020
By: Alice Liang

The Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation (TTL), the largest manufacturer and distributor of cigarettes and alcohol in Taiwan, has said it will temporarily halt the production line at the Yilan Distillery and start to manufacture rubbing alcohol instead to help counter Covid-19.

The coronavirus concern has driven skyrocketing sales for hygiene and healthcare products around Asia. First, it was the face mask craze, and the list for panic-buying even extended to toilet roll. Known as an effective sterilising agent, rubbing alcohol has seen shortages as a result of the outbreak.

In Taiwan, TTL has announced plans to start producing rubbing alcohol.

Longtian distillery in Tainan was TTL’s first distillery to help in producing rubbing alcohol. However, with high demand persisting, it has also been decided to use the Yilan Distillery as well.

Founded in 1909, Yilan Distillery, located in the northeast of the state, is Taiwan’s oldest and the only producer of the county’s indigenous Monascus-fermented ‘red dew wine’. In spite having a history dating back over 110 years, the signature brand only sells 240,000 bottles a month.
[FULL  STORY]