Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/30/2020
By: Chen Chao-fu and Christie Chen

Taipei, May 30 (CNA) Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Saturday chose not to show up for a televised briefing ahead of a June 6 vote to recall him, and instead spent his time visiting vegetable farms devastated by recent torrential rains.

"I am going to continue inspecting (agricultural losses)," Han of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said during a visit to a farm in Kaohsiung's Ziguan District Saturday morning, when asked by reporters why he chose not to participate in the TV briefing.

The briefing was held at 9 a.m. by the Kaohsiung City Election Commission and broadcast live on local TV and the commission's YouTube channel.

The commission is required under law to hold a recall briefing via public television for the lead petitioner of the recall and person being recalled, so that they can make statements in person, unless the parties involved agree not to hold such a briefing.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 29 May, 2020
By: Shirley Lin

South Link Line has new elevated section for better views[/caption] The South Link Line is the southernmost section of Taiwan’s circular rail network. The views it offers passengers have earned it a reputation as Taiwan’s most beautiful stretch of railroad. Now, with a new elevated section of track, the line offers even more stunning vantage points.

At midnight on May 28, the Taiwan Railway Administration completed a new 2.7 km elevated section of the South Link Line. The line cuts across Taiwan’s far south, linking the east coast with the west. This elevated railway project took three years to complete.
[FULL  STORY]

ABC News
May 29, 2020
By: Rebecca Armitage and Lucia Stein

In the early days, the picture appeared pretty grim for Taiwan.

Its proximity to and the number of flights between it and China meant Taiwan — population 23 million — was expected to have a high number of cases of COVID-19, one research paper has noted.

And yet months later, as some countries struggle with the ongoing toll of the pandemic, Taiwan seems to have the coronavirus under control.

It by no means completely escaped the virus. As of May 27, Taiwan has had 441 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven deaths. But it's not nearly as hard hit as some had feared.
[FULL  STORY]

Those making or importing banned tobacco products to face penalty of NT$50 million

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/29
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The long-overdue amendment to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act will seek to raise the legal age for smoking to 20 and introduce restrictions on non-traditional tobacco products.

The amendment, proposed by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was published on Friday (May 29) and is open to a 60-day public consultation.

Wang Ying-Wei (王英偉), director-general of HPA, said the proposed changes will see the smoking age increase from 18 to 20 to prevent nicotine from hampering brain development. According to him, over 82 percent of smokers in Taiwan started smoking before the age of 20, wrote UDN.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation last December raising the federal minimum age for sale of tobacco products to 21 years from 18. Singapore has taken a similar move, while Thailand raised the age to 20 in 2017 when a tougher tobacco control law took effect.
[FULL STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/29/2020
By: Flor Wang and Huang Lee-yun

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) An American fugitive was repatriated to the United States last week after living in Taiwan for 12 years, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).

The man, identified as 44-year-old Christian Taylor, was sent back to the U.S. on May 22 after serving a 10-month jail term in Taiwan for domestic violence and illegally entering Taiwan, said Su Li-tsung (蘇立琮), captain of the Second Squadron of the CIB International Criminal Affairs Division, at a news briefing Thursday.

Su said Taiwan received a tipoff in May 2019, later confirmed by the United States and Canada, that an American fugitive with a forged Canadian passport was in Taiwan and that he was wanted by a Californian court for stealing trade secrets and escaping from prison.

The U.S. told Taiwanese authorities that Taylor flew to Taiwan from Los Angeles on May 18, 2007 to avoid prosecution and entered Taiwan with a forged Canadian passport, Su said.
[FULL  STORY]

HOMEWARD BOUND: Officials met one of many deep-sea fishing vessels returning to Taiwan and conducted identity checks, health screenings and quarantine procedures

Taipei Times
Date: May 30, 2020
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

Anyone in Taiwan can now pay to be tested for the novel coronavirus, as the nation now has adequate testing capacity, the Central Epidemic Command Center said.

The announcement yesterday followed a decision on Saturday last week to offer self-paid testing to people traveling abroad, as many countries require a negative test result before admitting foreigners.

Self-paid testing was previously available only to Taiwanese making emergency visits to countries in Southeast Asia, China or Macau.

People can pay to be tested once every three months at a cost to be determined by hospitals, the center said.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 28 May, 2020
By: Paula Chao

Even before China passed the controversial national security law on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was warning that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous. Here in Taiwan, President Tsai said the country would help Hong Kongers wanting to come to live and work. 

In today’s Taiwan Insider, we explain how Hong Kong got its special status, and we hear from China expert Alexander Huang about the territory’s future.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan trials of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus find no significant medical benefit

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on Tuesday (26) that clinical trials of an anti-malarial drug Trump had touted as a "miracle cure" for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) have shown no significant improvement over other medications, while the risks of side effects are higher.

After touting the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine for months as a "miracle cure" for COVID-19, Trump last week revealed that he was taking the drug daily to protect him from contracting the virus. However, on Monday (May 25), the World Health Organization (WHO) halted clinical trials of the drug after a study published in the Lancet medical journal on May 22 found that patients were more likely to die if they took the medication.

When asked on Tuesday to comment on the reports, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Advisory Specialist Panel Convener and infectious disease specialist Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that because most patients in Taiwan have a mild form of the disease, studies have been carried out on the drug to see if it would shorten the time it takes for a patient to go from testing positive to testing negative. However, the results of the clinical trials found that there was no significant difference with patients who received different medications, and the CECC is considering adjusting guidelines as a result.  [FULL  STORY]