Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/05/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Close to 40 percent of the country's COVID-19 coronavirus cases were found by Taiwan's border control officials, reflecting the country's success at keeping the virus at bay, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Friday.

At a daily press briefing, CECC deputy chief Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) said that out of the 352 confirmed imported cases to date, a total of 138 infections were found by border control authorities, accounting for 39 percent of the country's confirmed imported cases.

"Border control plays a very important role in virus prevention and we thank all of the personnel and staff for their contributions to safeguarding Taiwan," Chen said.

The last imported infection was on June 1, a woman in her 50s who went to the United States in March for work and returned to Taiwan on May 31.    [FULL  STORY]

SUCCESSFUL POLICY: The center said that 6,000 people have undergone testing at airports and ports, while nearly 150,000 home quarantine notices have been issued

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 06, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

Nearly 40 percent of the nation’s imported COVID-19 cases were intercepted at the border, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that maintaining strict border controls remains an important policy.

The center would only consider reopening the border if the nation’s disease situation remains stable after domestic restrictions have been lifted, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who also heads the center, said at the center’s daily news briefing in Taipei yesterday.

Taiwan on March 19 banned the entry of all foreign nationals, with the exception of Alien Resident Certificate holders, members of diplomatic missions or representative offices, those honoring a business contract, and people granted special permission by Taiwan’s representative office in their home nation.

While the Ministry of Education had proposed that the government allow the entry of overseas students from nations deemed to be less at risk of COVID-19, a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday did not reach a conclusion.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 04 June, 2020
By: Paula Chao

Hong Kong bookstore owner Lam Wing-kee[/caption] Well-known Hong Kong bookstore owner Lam Wing-kee says China’s work to crush dissent continues unchanged. Lam was speaking Thursday during an interview in Taipei.

Lam has lived in Taiwan for a year since fleeing Hong Kong due to the threat of Chinese persecution. In mid-April, he reopened his Causeway Bay Books in Taipei. His original Hong Kong store of the same name had been known for selling books banned in China.

June 4 marks the 31st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Exiled Hong Kong bookstore owner and dissident Lam Wing-kee says the Chinese Communists were seeking to strengthen their power when they cracked down on the protests in the square. He says that mentality of cracking down to gain power remains unchanged among the Communists 30 years on.
[FULL  STORY]

Business Insider
Date: June 04, 2020
By: Aria Bendix 

More than four months after identifying its first coronavirus case, Taiwan has reported less than 450 infections. Only seven people of the country's 24 million have died.

Part of that success in fighting the virus was Taiwan's quick response: The state began to monitor incoming travelers from Wuhan for signs of respiratory illness on December 30, after Chinese ophthalmologist Li Wenliang warned fellow doctors about a possible outbreak resembling SARS. Then in January, Taiwanese officials began isolating every infected patient and tracing their contacts.

But a second key element of Taiwan's strategy was communicating with citizens through humorous stunts and digital campaigns. The state hired comedians to help craft viral memes, adopted animal mascots to inform the public about important safety information, and even used teddy bears to encourage social distancing at restaurants.     [FULL  STORY]

Pompeo’s meeting with Tiananmen leaders sends clear message to China: Wang Dan

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/04
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday (June 3), one of the 1989 Tiananmen student leaders, Wang Dan (王丹), described the exchange as "historically significant" and said it sent a clear message to the Chinese government about U.S. support for human rights.

According to CNA, Pompeo hosted survivors of the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre on the eve of its 31st anniversary, becoming the first secretary of state in American history to offer such a gesture. After sharing a photo of himself and the student activists, Pompeo expressed his condolences to the victims of the brutal repression of the Chinese students' democracy movement.

In an interview with Radio Taiwan International that same day, Wang pointed out that this was the first time in 30 years that an American secretary of state agreed to meet with him and other survivors. He said that the U.S. legislative branch in the past had usually been more vocal on human rights violations than the executive; however, Wednesday's closed-door meeting signified that this was no longer the case.

Wang said both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government have decided to stand up to Beijing's continual persecution of its Chinese opposition together, which he believes is highly significant. He added that the U.S. is trying to convey its confrontational stance toward Beijing's human rights record through the meeting.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 06/04/2020
By: Wang Cheng-chung and Matthew Mazzetta

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior on Thursday proposed wide-ranging changes to the nation's election laws, with provisions aimed at stamping out disinformation and foreign political interference.

In a press release, the ministry said it had drafted amendments to a total of 112 articles in the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, which it divided into five categories.

Notably, the proposals included a group of reforms aimed at guaranteeing the integrity of elections, which the ministry said it had based on a draft U.S. bill called the Honest Ads Act.

The changes would require all political ads on the internet, television and other media to include a disclaimer identifying the group or individuals behind it, as well as those providing the funding, the ministry said.

Additionally, they would authorize the Central Election Commission to set regulations on political ad content and the keeping of political ad records.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 05, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday said it had arrested six people on suspicion of illegally stockpiling and selling medical masks made by a factory in central Taiwan.

Bureau officials told a news briefing that they had seized 180,000 masks after raiding the factory and several warehouses on Friday last week.

Factory staff and management have allegedly colluded to sell a total of 700,000 masks for NT$10 (US$0.33) each — double the government-mandated price of NT$5 — and made a profit of NT$5 million, officials said.

The factory is reportedly connected to one of the 30 companies making up the national team for mask production, which has been working in collaboration with three government-funded research institutes since February and has a daily capacity of 22 million masks.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 03 June, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Taiwan’s defense ministry has unveiled a new locally-developed machine that can detect COVID-19. It’s fully automated and analyzes nucleic acid with an accuracy of over 95%.

The ministry is introducing the equipment in accordance with advice from the Central Epidemic Command Center. The goal is to avoid more cluster infections like the one that occurred on a navy vessel in April.    [FULL  STORY]

International Business Times
Date: 06/03/2020
By: Palash Ghosh @Gooch700

Video: Hong Kong Chief Executive Withdraws Contentious Extradition Bill

KEY POINTS

• Taiwan s6aid that almost 6,000 people from Hong Kong received residence permits last year
• Hong Kong is viewed by Taiwan as a bulwark against China
• Beijing opposes any Taiwan interference in Hong Kong

Taiwan is preparing for a ‘surge of refugees’ from Hong Kong who seek to escape a draconian new security law to be imposed by China.

Lam Wing-kee, a bookstore owner who fled Hong Kong as a political refugee last April, told Nikkei Asian Review that he thinks more people from Hong Kong will try to relocate to Taiwan.

"A surge of refugees is coming," he said.

Reportedly, Taiwan has received a spike in requests from Hong Kongers seeking to move there since China announced its security law.

While the Taiwanese government of President Tsai Ing-wen has condemned China’s crackdown in Hong Kong, it is unclear if Taiwan – a nation of 24 million located about 500 miles across the water from Hong Kong – will be able to accommodate a sudden increase of new arrivals.    [FULL  STORY]

Mask no longer obligatory from June 7 if social distance can be maintained

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/03
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is slowing down, the wearing of masks will no longer be compulsory on trains beginning June 7, according to new proposals from the Ministry of Transportation, reports said Wednesday (June 3).

The relaxation will apply to Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) trains and to high-speed rail trains, but not to local Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) systems, the Liberty Times reported. In addition, allowing travelers not to wear masks will only be applicable if sufficient social distance can be maintained; similar changes will also apply to post offices, the report said.

At the entrance to train stations, passengers will still have their temperature measured and will be asked to wear a mask; while on board, the sale of food, drinks and other products will be resumed from June 7, according to the report. Domestic airlines will also be allowed to offer beverages during the flight.

Some categories of TRA trains will make standing-room tickets available on weekends, but only for a maximum of 120 passengers per train, Liberty Times reported.   [FULL  STORY]