Radio Taiwan International
Date: 14 February, 2020
By: Leslie Liao

February 14 is Valentines Day

What would you want to receive for Valentine’s Day? The latest electronic gadget? Makeup? Or would you settle for just a nice dinner? These go-to options might be tried favorites, but an online survey revealed that this year…Face masks are the number 3 most desired Valentine’s Day gift.

Cash took second place, while travel plans were the most desired gift of all.

With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan’s stores of medical supplies are dwindling. During this trying time, some people on the internet are making sure that their significant others are well equipped.
[FULL  STORY]

The Straits Times
Date: FEB 14, 2020
By: Jan Lee

Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao was scheduled to hold an encore of his concert tour, Mr Entertainment, on April 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.PHOTO: LIVE NATION

He was scheduled to hold an encore of his concert tour, Mr Entertainment, on April 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Organiser Live Nation said on Friday (Feb 14) that the concert was cancelled due to "coronavirus proliferation concerns" and that the "safety of artists, patrons and staff is (its) top priority".

Fans who have purchased tickets will receive a full refund through their original mode of payment. More information about refunds can be found here.    [FULL  STORY]

Two men and one woman could face stiff fines

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/02/14
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 2 Friday. (CNA photo)

The three arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 8 and should have stayed in isolation for 14 days following their arrival, but instead gave false information about their intended whereabouts, CNA reported.

A Taipei City Government spokesman said the three had been found after 6 p.m. Friday in a rented apartment in the capital’s Wanhua District, and would be assigned quarters while they could also expect stiff fines.

After the authorities came to the conclusion that the two men and one woman had given false addresses and telephone numbers, they decided to post the three people’s names online. Their nationality was unknown, CNA reported.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/14/2020
By: Flor Wang and Kuan Jui-ping

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) A Taiwanese-British gay couple has finally become legal partners, one year after holding a wedding ceremony in Taiwan that received blessings from across the country, despite widespread curiosity about the huge age gap between them.

25-year-old Chao Shou-chuan (趙守泉) and Andrew Goodier, 76, from the English city of Leicester, had their union legally recognized following the Feb. 12 registration of their union with the Miaoli City Household Registration Office.

"We finally got married, although it is belated," Chao said in a Facebook post that day. "I've finished my days as a single guy, and the other Mr. Chao (Goodier) must behave carefully from now on."

"Andy was also very happy," Chao said. "He thinks the registration is good for both of us and also for other same-sex couples in this country."    [FULL  STORY]

‘FLOATING PRISON’: The son of the 85-year-old traveler thanked those who assisted in obtaining medical care for his sick father, who was on board a quarantined ship

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 15, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

An 85-year-old Taiwanese passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, which is quarantined off the

A passenger wearing a mask stands on the deck of the cruise ship “Diamond Princess,” as the vessel’s passengers continue to be tested for COVID-19, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday.
Photo: Reuters

The son, who has not been identified for privacy reasons, said via a social media platform that he had been informed earlier in the day of the latest developments regarding his father.

His pleas for help were answered, the son said, thanking those who assisted in obtaining medical care for his father.

The son said in a telephone call on Tuesday to the Central News Agency that he had written to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) the previous day saying that his father was confined in a windowless cabin on the cruise ship, and had nosebleeds and was coughing blood, but had not received medical attention.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 13 February, 2020
By: Jake Chen

Attempt to launch first Taiwan-built rocket fails. (CNA Photo)

The rocket is the brainchild of Taiwanese company Taiwan Innovative Space Inc. The launch had been was scheduled between 6:00 and 7:00 on Thursday morning at a launch sit in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County. However, staff at launch control decided to cancel the launch at the last minute after they spotted abnormal signals in the rocket’s computer system. 
[FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2020/02/13
By: Roy Ngerng

Photo Credit: Reuters / TPG Images

Singapore reported signs of panic buying due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) this week. How did this happen in a city generally known for its perceived stability? How is it that Taiwan, a close neighbor of China, has managed the crisis with more grace?  

Preventive strategy

To a certain extent, the Lion City’s public health management of the coronavirus outbreak has been satisfactory. The health ministry adopted some practices that deserve attention and might even be worth replicating. For example, health authorities made a swift decision in January to test all patients with pneumonia for the coronavirus, a key to uncover cases of infection in people who had no recent travel history to China. It’s no small feat, considering that Singapore has 500 to 600 patients diagnosed with pneumonia per week. 

Professor Kenneth Mak, the ministry's director of medical services, told The Straits Times that the testing capacity isn’t going to be an issue. “In fact, we have sufficient capacity to test these individuals (and) those who come on as suspected cases further downstream as well,” he said. 

Taiwan’s current preventive strategy, however, remains to only test people with close contact with confirmed patients, including those who are asymptomatic, based on recommendations by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.     [FULL  STORY]

THE RIGHT TRACK: Autonomous vehicles are driving the development of smart transportation systems in the nation, aided by local governments, an official said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 14, 2020
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The government has issued the first vehicle license plate to be used in autonomous vehicle

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung, center right, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, center left, and other officials, stand in front of an autonomous bus, holding placards with the logos of organizations sponsoring trials of driverless vehicles at a news conference in Taoyuan yesterday.
Photo: Hsieh Wu-hsiung, Taipei Times

Earlier this month, Kinwaytek Technology Co, a subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom Co, received the nation’s first license plate for autonomous vehicle trials.

Lin and several other government officials were yesterday invited to visit the company’s testing ground for autonomous vehicles at Taoyuan’s Hutoushan Innovation Hub (虎頭山創新園區).

Autonomous vehicles are the driver in the nation’s development of smart transportation systems, Lin said in an interview on the sidelines of the event, adding that local governments have been eagerly facilitating driverless vehicle development.    [FULL  STORY]