Eye On Taiwan

VIDEO: CECC explains social distance guidelines Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:37 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: Natalie Tso Classrooms in New Taipei City increase the distance between students’ desks (CNA photo) Classrooms in New Taipei City increase the distance between students' desks (CNA photo)[/caption] The government is promoting awareness of stricter social distancing guidelines amidst concerns over the growing COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwan has new social distancing guidelines. Central Epidemic Command Center official Chi-Kung Ho explains the details of the new rules that are aimed to prevent a major outbreak. Find new ways other than a handshake to say “Hello”. There are a few principles to remember. First, keep a 1.5-meter distance from others indoors, and 1-meter distance outdoors. But if you wear a mask, you can sit closer. Second, wear a mask in enclosed and crowded spaces.  Don’t talk if you’re in an elevator or sharing a meal. If you want to talk after a meal, put on your mask.    [FULL  STORY]

WHO faces stiff test as world tests its authority Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:29 PM PDT Gulf Today Date: April 7, 2020 By: David Pierson, Tribune News Service In a few awkward seconds, Bruce Aylward, a senior official at the World Health Organisation, laid Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaks at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. File/AP bare the flaws and pressures faced by the global health agency charged with leading the response to the worst pandemic in over a century. A video that’s since gone viral shows the distinguished Canadian epidemiologist dodging a reporter’s question about why Taiwan is not a member of the WHO. Aylward twitches and blinks. He says he cannot hear the journalist. When she offers to repeat the question, he asks her to change the subject. When she persists, he hangs up on the video chat with a Skype chime thud. Aylward is a veteran of the United Nations’ health agency, responsible for preventing millions of children from contracting polio and stanching the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. But the agency’s limitations were starkly sketched at the mention of Taiwan. An island nation of 24 million crucial to the fight against the coronavirus, Taiwan has been blocked from joining the WHO because China considers it a renegade province. The video exchange, health experts say, reinforced how powerful national interests are overshadowing shared interests at a time when the agency is needed to marshal a global response to an outbreak that emanated from China and is threatening to kill millions. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese engineer is inventor of N95 respirator masks Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:24 PM PDT Material scientist Peter Tsai developed technology needed for N95 mask production Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/07 By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Dr. Peter Tsai, invetor of N95 respirator masks.  (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to claim new victims around the world, many medical workers have relied on the N95 respirator masks to lower their infection risks. Unbeknownst to them, the inventor of these masks is actually Taiwanese. As a mechanical engineer and material scientist, Dr. Peter Tsai (蔡秉燚) is accredited with inventing the electrostatic charging technology needed to produce N95 masks, the highest quality medical masks known to health professionals. Tsai, who retired from the University of Tennessee in 2019 after teaching for 35 years, holds 12 patents in the U.S., Storm Media reports. According to ETtoday, the "N" in the N95 stands for "not resistant to oil" while the "95" implies the masks' ability to block at least 95 percent of 0.3 micron particles, which may include viral droplets, dust, pollen, and air pollutants from factories and cars. Tsai's invention enables regular masks to filter out ten times more air particles — essential for frontline medical workers dealing with continuous viral exposure.    [FULL  STORY]

Netherlands representative office thanks Taiwan for mask donations Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:17 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/07/2020 By: Chen Yun-yu and Matthew Mazzetta Taipei, April 7 (CNA) The Netherlands Trade and Investment Office on Monday thanked Taiwan for Representative Guy Wittich/ Photo courtesy of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office its pledged donation of surgical face masks, saying that "working together is the only way we'll get through" the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with CNA, Representative Guy Wittich said Taiwan's April 1 announcement that it will donate 10 million masks to international partners, including 5.6 million to European Union member states, came as a surprise, after he was unable to arrange an emergency shipment of masks requested by the Utrecht city government. I "asked MOFA (Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs) whether they know any suppliers of masks and whether it's possible that Taiwan waives the export ban," Wittich said, referring to the government's Jan. 23 move to reserve all face mask production for domestic use. "After some time, I gave up sending formal requests, so I was really surprised to know about the donation," he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: CECC reveals virus treatment capacity Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:12 PM PDT SMALL INCREASE: Three new imported cases of COVID-19 were reported, one of whom returned to Taiwan on the same flight as 10 other previously reported cases Taipei Times Date: Apr 08, 2020 By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter Photo: CNA The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday disclosed the nation’s capacity for treating COVID-19 patients, adding that it has 34 facilities capable of analyzing 3,800 tests per day. The global outbreak of COVID-19 is still severe, and clustered infections in local communities or healthcare facilities have been reported in many countries, said Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元), who heads the CECC’s medical response division. The center has six main strategies to ensure that Taiwan’s healthcare system has sufficient medical capacity, he said. While about 1,500 tests are being performed every day, the nation’s “expanded COVID-19 testing capacity” has reached about 3,800 tests per day, which can be analyzed at 34 testing facilities — 16 in northern Taiwan, 10 in southern Taiwan, seven in central Taiwan and one in eastern Taiwan, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan to share COVID-19 experience in global online seminar Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:04 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 07 April, 2020 By: Natalie Tso The Taiwan Association for Global Health Diplomacy (CNA photo) Medical experts plan to share Taiwan’s experience fighting COVID-19 in a global online seminar. That’s the word from the Taiwan Association for Global Health Diplomacy. The association said it is working with medical staff and organizations in countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. It plans to hold an online seminar about epidemic prevention on May 17. It will share Taiwan’s experience with medical staff and the public in Switzerland, India, the Philippines, the UK and other countries.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Has a Brilliant Life Hack to Disinfect Face Masks Using Rice Cookers Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:59 PM PDT In Taiwan, local officials shared how to reuse a mask multiple times by disinfecting it with a rice cooker, Taiwan News reports. NextShark Date: April 7, 2020 By: Eric Hu@_EricHu With protective face masks in short supply due to the growing demand worldwide, any hack to effectively prolong the use of one mask could go a long way. If you own a rice cooker, Taiwan's FDA made a PSA stating that you can put your disposable PPE or mask in your rice cooker (with no water) and set it to steam for three minutes to sterilize it and re-use. During a press conference over the weekend, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) and Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) demonstrated how to use a rice cooker to disinfect a mask. A fascinating clip of the presentation showed Wu guiding Chen through the steps of dry heating a mask to kill any potentially accumulated bacteria or viruses after use. In a light moment, Chen fumbled a bit after Wu instructed him to place the metal rack at the bottom of the cooker. Chen can be seen placing it at the bottom of the metal pot, which prompted Wu to joke that the minister apparently has never used a rice cooker before.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Huashan killer escapes death sentence in second trial Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:33 PM PDT Family members of victim surnamed Kao (高) vow to appeal for reinstatement of death sentence Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/07 By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Chen Po-chien  (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The man who nearly two years ago murdered and dismembered a female member of an archery class he organized and taught on the lawn of Taipei's Huashan 1914 Creative Park escaped the death sentence in his second trial on Tuesday (April 7), as Taiwan's High Court considered his confession a basis for leniency. Family members of the victim, surnamed Kao (高), were furious upon hearing the sentence, which they said did not meet the expectations of the public, and they said they would appeal, TVBS News reported. Defendant Chen Po-chien (陳伯謙) was indicted in August 2018 on charges of sexual assault and murder in addition to abandonment and destruction of a corpse. According to prosecutors, Kao signed up for Chen’s archery class, and on May 31, 2018 they consumed alcohol together. Chen admitted that he tried to rape Kao while she was sleeping, and he explained that her resistance upon waking stirred him to further violence.    [FULL  STORY]

CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan to donate over 1 million masks to New Southbound countries Posted: 07 Apr 2020 10:13 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/07/2020 By: Chen Wei-ting, Fan Cheng-hsiang, Phoenix Hsu and William Yen CNA file photo Taipei, April 7 (CNA) Taiwan is planning to donate another round of surgical face masks overseas, this time with over a million pieces going to several countries targeted by the government's New Southbound Policy (NSP), as well as other countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Tuesday. At a press briefing in Taipei, the head of MOFA's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱), said the masks will be sent to about seven to eight NSP countries that have recently asked for help from Taiwan, as well as countries outside of the Asia-Pacific region. The surgical masks will be provided primarily to healthcare workers in these countries to assist them in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Ger said. An official familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, told CNA that the countries will include Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar and Indonesia. [FULL  STORY]

World must watch PRC’s actions in UN bodies: Ou Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:56 AM PDT POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE: The appointment of a top Chinese diplomat to the council’s Consultative Group reflects China’s effort to expand its influence over the UN system, MOFA said Taipei Times Date: Apr 08, 2020 By:Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter Delegates attend the opening of the UN Human Rights Council’s annual session in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 24. Photo: AFP UN members need to watch out for Beijing’s abuse of power in the world body’s systems, after a Chinese official was appointed last week to a panel on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday Jiang Duan (蔣端), who holds the rank of minister at the Chinese mission in Geneva, Switzerland, was appointed to the council’s Consultative Group as a representative for Asia-Pacific states for a one-year term through March 31 next year. It is ironic that the Chinese government, with its egregious record on human rights issues, can be admitted into the consultative group to help monitor the human rights conditions in other countries, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement. The appointment reflects China’s control over UN systems, which deserves the vigilance of all governments, she said.    [FULL  STORY]