Eye On Taiwan

Taiwan pro baseball league to hold games in empty stadiums Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:38 PM PDT Taiwan’s CPBL to open April 11 without live audience for first time in history Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/01 By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Taiwan’s CPBL to open without spectators April 11.  (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) announced Wednesday (April 1) that the games will be held with no spectators for the first time in history once the season opens on April 11. Following a virtual meeting between CPBL executives, the league said that the new season will open as originally scheduled, but no fans will be allowed into the ballparks until the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is over. According to CNA, the CPBL will become the first pro baseball league in the world to open its season since the outbreak began in December. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s COVID-19 relief package could reach NT$1.05 trillion Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:33 PM PDT Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/01 By:  Central News Agency The government plans to provide NT$1.05 trillion (US$34.64 billion) in two phases of an economic relief package to provide emergency aid to businesses and individuals hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Wednesday. The size of the package is expected to reach the NT$1.05 trillion figure after an estimated NT$150 billion is added to the package in the second phase, Tsai said in a speech on the government's response measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first phase, the government has allocated a NT$60 billion special budget to help fund industries affected by the pandemic and to provide an additional NT$40 billion sourced from government budgets and funds, such as the Employment Security Fund and the Tourism Development Fund, toward emergency relief and economic stimulus measures, according to Tsai. Meanwhile, the first phase of the emergency relief package also includes nearly NT$350 billion in loans for businesses, she added.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan shares end lower ahead of long weekend Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:30 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/01/2020 By: Frances Huang Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved lower Wednesday to close below 9,700 points, as investors grew more cautious about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus during the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Festival, dealers said. Selling was seen across the board in most sectors, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, as investors were seeking to hold onto cash due to the global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, dealers said. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (Taiex) ended down 44.43 points, or 0.46 percent, at the day's low of 9,663.63, after coming off a high of 9,736.00. Turnover totaled NT$117.37 billion (US$3.88 billion) during the session. The market opened up 0.19 percent on follow-through buying from the previous session, when the Taiex closed up 0.82 percent, but it soon fell into see-saw trading for most of the session, dealers said.    [FULL  STORY]

Manufacturing PMI increases to 53.1 Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:26 PM PDT UNEXPECTED: The increase was tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the outbreak disrupted work in China and delayed shipments, the vice president of CIER said Taipei Times Date: Apr 02, 2020 By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) held surprisingly strong at 53.1 last month, as inventory demand bolstered suppliers of electronics and optical products, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. However, firms were downbeat about business in the next six months, as the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading in Europe and the US, hurting demand for exports, the Taipei-based think tank said in a survey. Last month’s PMI reading rose 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier, as firms in the electronics, transportation and biotechnology sectors reported an improvement in business, while those selling food products, machinery equipment and basic raw materials reported negative cyclical movements, it said.    [FULL  STORY]

COVID-19: Taiwan reports seven new cases, total stands at 329 Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:22 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 01 April, 2020 By: John Van Trieste Health Minister Chen Shih-chung announces that Taiwan has confirmed seven more cases of COVID-19. Taiwan reported seven new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing Taiwan’s total since the start of the pandemic up to 329. At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said that all seven of the new cases are imported. The patients in six cases had recently traveled to the US, while the patient in the seventh case had recently been to the UK.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s aggressive efforts are paying off in fight against COVID-19 Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:17 PM PDT PBS Date: Apr 1, 2020 By: Nick Schifrin As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, Taiwan seems to have it under control. The island is only 80 miles off the coast of mainland China and very near to where the virus originated; plus there were many daily flights to it from Wuhan. But Taiwan has only 329 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and only five people have died from it. Nick Schifrin reports on this COVID-19 success story.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan premier says COVID-19 should be called ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:11 PM PDT Taiwan premier says China's insistence on changing coronavirus name shows lack of confidence Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/01 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Premier Su Tseng-chang. (CNA photo) 2TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When asked for his take on communist China's insistence on not using the place name "Wuhan" when describing the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the correct name is "Wuhan pneumonia" (武漢肺炎) since that was its factual origin. During an interpellation session of the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday (March 31), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) sought Su's opinion on communist China's policy of not allowing "Wuhan" to be used in descriptions of COVID-10 and other attempts to salvage its image amidst the global catastrophe. Su responded by saying the coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China, and therefore it should be called "Wuhan pneumonia," and that demanding the world to change the name shows that China lacks confidence in itself, reported Liberty Times. Tsai said that China is seeking to whitewash its gross mismanagement of the coronavirus epidemic by claiming that terms such as "Wuhan coronavirus" and "Wuhan virus" are racist, while having World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom praise China's every move. Tsai pointed out that Tedros even lauded the communist country as having "bought the world time." Su agreed with Tsai's assessment and said that it was a fact that the disease started in Wuhan, so the world has given it the name Wuhan pneumonia. He noted that many major infectious diseases take their names from their place of origin, such as German measles, Japanese encephalitis, and Hong Kong foot (Taiwanese Mandarin term for athlete's foot), but because China does not have any confidence in itself, it behaves in this way.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan executes death row inmate convicted in six deaths Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:06 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/01/2020 By: Joseph Yeh Weng Jen-hsien (center), CNA file photo Taipei, April 1 (CNA) A death row inmate was executed Wednesday in Taiwan, less than a year after he was convicted of killing six people by setting fire to his home. Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said he signed the order, and the death sentence was carried out Wednesday afternoon in New Taipei. The 53-year-old inmate Weng Jen-hsien (翁仁賢) was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court on July 10, 2019 after he was convicted in the deaths of his parents, their caregiver, his niece and nephew, and the latter's wife. According to the court, Weng set fire to his home in Taoyuan City's Longtan District on Feb. 7, 2016 after a family feud, and the six died in the blaze, while four other relatives sustained injuries. [FULL  STORY]

Hau contributed greatly to nation: Tsai Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:46 PM PDT PRESIDENTIAL CITATION: The former premier had said he would never accept a certificate of recognition for his service from a DPP administration, a friend said Taipei Times Date: Apr 02, 2020 By: William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA Manuscripts written by former premier Hau Pei-tsun, who died on Monday, lie on a desk in his office in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA Honoring former premier and chief of the general staff Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), who passed away on Monday, with a presidential citation is proper, as he had made great contributions to the nation, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Hau served as premier under then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) from 1990 to 1993, athough the two belonged to different Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) factions, with Lee leaning toward localization and democratization. Hau’s contributions were especially important during the 823 Artillery Bombardment — the bombardment of Kinmen by China’s People’s Liberation Army on Aug. 23, 1958 — and so “conferring an official certificate of recognition upon him is proper and a matter of course,” Tsai said. Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), one of the former premier’s sons, said in a statement released by his office on Monday that the family was opening to discussing such a citation if contacted by the Presidential Office.    [FULL  STORY]

WATCH: Taiwan Insider, April 1, 2020 Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:40 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 01 April, 2020 By: Paula Chao A WHO official caused a stir after evading a question about Taiwan’s membership in the global health body. In an interview with RTHK, Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward appeared to evade the question and hang up. In today’s show, find out how Taiwan responded, and why the WHO needs Taiwan.      [FULL  STORY

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Como montar um home office e se manter produtivo em casa Posted: 02 Apr 2020 06:01 AM PDT Imagem de tookapic por Pixabay Publicado na Folha de S. Paulo O home office se tornou, nos últimos dias, uma das principais medidas protetivas contra a propagação do novo coronavírus. Mas muitas empresas e funcionários não estavam preparados para esse novo cenário, diz Raphael Falcão, diretor da Hays, empresa de seleção e recrutamento. Quanto ao empregado, o primeiro ponto para o regime remoto funcionar é entender que o objetivo é manter a produtividade. “Você não perde tempo se locomovendo, mas tem que ter uma rotina preestabelecida”, diz Falcão. Também é muito importante reservar um local da casa que seja tranquilo, diz a arquiteta Pati Cillo, do escritório Pati Cillo Arquitetura. “Não estou falando da mesa de jantar. O ideal é ter um ambiente fechado que funcione como escritório, já que a concentração é fundamental para a produtividade”, afirma. Especialistas ouvidos pela Folha explicam como se organizar e manter a disciplina trabalhando de casa, além de dar ideias de como montar um escritório eficiente. CRIE SEU ESPAÇO Escolha um canto bem iluminado e arejado. “Se não tiver um cômodo só para o escritório, use biombos ou portas de correr como divisórias, para delimitar seu espaço”, diz a arquiteta Danielle Dantas, do Dantas & Passos Arquitetura. Os móveis podem ser pequenos, mas têm que respeitar as medidas ergonômicas mínimas: mesa de 70 cm a 75 cm de altura, com profundidade de 45 cm ou mais. Prefira cadeiras de espaldar alto, para não cansar a coluna, e com ajuste de altura do assento. Os braços devem ficar apoiados na mesa e levemente dobrados. Também vale investir em iluminação extra, focada na mesa de trabalho. “Recomendamos usar luz branca morna, em torno de 3000K, para manter o ambiente aconchegante”, diz Erika Mello, da Andrade & Mello Arquitetura. ORGANIZE-SE E CUMPRA PRAZOS No regime remoto, o gestor deixa de ter o controle do que o funcionário está fazendo e precisa ter a confiança de que os prazos acordados serão cumpridos, diz Amelia Caetano, especialista em gestão remota do Instituto Trabalho Portátil, consultoria que ajuda empresas a implementarem home office. O funcionário é responsável pelas tarefas e pela forma como irá executá-las. Para manter a disciplina e o ritmo de execução do trabalho, é importante não programar tarefas pessoais no horário de expediente, a exemplo de consertos e entregas de mercadorias, diz o diretor de recrutamento da Robert Half. ESTABELEÇA UMA COMUNICAÇÃO CLARA COM GESTORES E COLEGAS Garantir uma boa comunicação remota é fundamental para manter o fluxo de trabalho. Antes de começar o expediente, teste se os chats e plataformas de videoconferência estão funcionando. Como sistemas próprios das empresas podem ser pesados para a internet domiciliar, geralmente mais lenta que as dos escritórios, o diretor da Hays sugere usar aplicativos de celular que funcionam com facilidade, como o WhatsApp e o Skype. Também é importante manter seus pares avisados quando estiver ausente –é possível atualizar o status das plataformas indicando que você está almoçando, por exemplo. USE SÍMBOLOS PARA MOSTRAR QUE ESTÁ TRABALHANDO Principalmente para quem tem crianças em casa, pode ser difícil estabelecer uma divisão clara entre estar trabalhando e estar disponível. Uma forma de solucionar isso é criar símbolos para que outros moradores da residência saibam que o funcionário está em horário de trabalho. EXECUTE UMA TAREFA POR VEZ E EVITE DISTRAÇÕES Para manter a produtividade, é importante manter o foco na tarefa que está sendo realizada. Em vez de checar e-mails e ligações de forma compulsiva, estabeleça períodos para fazer essa verificação. Planejar a agenda do dia e criar uma lista de prioridades entre as obrigações também é uma boa forma de se manter focado e dar conta de todos os deveres. “Se eu já sei que 50% do meu tempo é gasto com coisas que aparecem no próprio dia, eu vou programar só metade do meu período e deixar o resto para as tarefas imprevisíveis”, sugere Caetano. TESTE AS FERRAMENTAS DE TRABALHO E A INFRAESTRUTURA As empresas que demandam home office geralmente oferecem notebooks com a segurança necessária para acessar documentos, ramais digitais e servidores próprios. Os funcionários devem se atentar ao funcionamento de ferramentas fundamentais para o expediente, como a internet. Lucas Nogueira, da Robert Half, sugere fazer um check list dos acessórios importantes para o trabalho, como relatórios, arquivos e telefones dos membros da equipe antes de fazer a mudança. MANTENHA HÁBITOS SAUDÁVEIS Como no home office todo o trabalho é feito em frente ao computador, o ideal é não fazer as refeições na mesma mesa, e fazer pausas a cada hora trabalhada. Procure também manter uma dieta equilibrada, consumindo alimentos saudáveis. Outra recomendação importante é tirar o pijama. Segundo a especialista Amelia Caetano, estudos mostram que, no geral, o desempenho do funcionário cai se ele não mantiver o hábito de se arrumar para o trabalho.

Eye On Taiwan

COVID-19: Taiwan confirms 16 new cases, bringing total to 322 Posted: 31 Mar 2020 10:06 AM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 31 March, 2020 By: John Van Trieste Taiwan has so far recorded 322 cases of COVID-19. Taiwan has confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19. These latest cases bring the total number Taiwan has recorded so far up to 322. Fourteen of the new cases are imported, brought in by people with a recent history of travel to the US, the UK, Iceland, France, Switzerland, Thailand, and the Philippines. The remaining two cases are of domestic origin. The first of these can be traced to contact with another person who had recently been to Turkey and later tested positive for COVID-19. In the second case, the source of infection is unclear. However, health authorities have come up with a list of 13 people who had recently come into contact with this second patient.    [SOURCE]

WHO accused of suppressing information about Taiwan’s coronavirus prevention measures Posted: 31 Mar 2020 10:01 AM PDT ABC News Date: March 31, 2020 By: Max Walden Print Email Facebook Twitter More WHO accused of suppressing information about Taiwan’s coronavirus prevention measures By Max Walden Updated about 5 hours ago Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. VIDEO: WHO official Bruce Aylward appears to dodge a question about Taiwan’s membership to the health organisation (ABC News) VIDEO: WHO official Bruce Aylward appears to dodge a question about Taiwan's membership to the health organisation (ABC News) Along with its Asian neighbours South Korea and Singapore, Taiwan has received near-universal praise for its approach to fighting coronavirus. Taiwan, which has been praised for its COVID-19 response, says WHO is not passing on information it shares with the body Taiwan has been denied observer status at the WHO since 2016 Critics say WHO is too influenced by China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory Despite its proximity to China, where the pandemic started, Taiwan's Centres for Disease Control has reported just over 300 cases of coronavirus.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan health minister promotes social distancing guidelines Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:50 AM PDT Individuals should maintain distance of 1.5m indoors and 1m outdoors, wear masks on public transport: CECC Taiwan News Date: 2020/03/31 By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer People in Taiwan encouraged to practice social distancing. (Pixabay photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — To prevent transmission clusters of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has introduced a set of social distancing guidelines for people to follow. At Tuesday's (March 31) daily press conference on the country's latest COVID-19 cases, Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) encouraged all individuals to follow the recommendations and maintain a social distance of 1.5m indoors and 1m outdoors. He said that the authorities will finalize the guidelines before announcing them on Wednesday (April 1). Chen pointed out that people should sit or queue 1m apart from others and avoid dining with friends or coworkers. For areas that are impossible to implement social distancing, such as trains or Metro Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, people must wear masks, he added. The health minister noted that the government is hoping to treat the guidelines as advice rather than as rules during the initial stages. He urged everyone to comply with the new policy, but he explained that individuals will not be fined unless they intentionally challenge the guidelines, reported the Liberty Times.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s COVID-19 response could reach NT$1 trillion: premier Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:46 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 03/31/2020 By: Chen Chun-hua, Ku Chuan and Matthew Mazzetta Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) / CNA file photo Taipei, March 31 (CNA) The Taiwan government's response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic could reach as much as NT$1 trillion (US$33 billion), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a legislative hearing on Tuesday. Such a figure would more adequately reflect the global nature of the crisis than the NT$60 billion special budget the Executive Yuan proposed in February, when the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak was mainly limited to China, Su said. In an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Lee De-wei (李德維) asked Su to detail the timing and scale of response measures being planned by the government, inquiring whether it would seek anything on the scale of Singapore's recently announced S$48 billion (US$33.65 billion) stimulus plan. "The overall scale will likely be around NT$1 trillion," Su said, arguing that the size of various countries' response measures will vary based on a variety of factors.    [FULL  STORY]

Judicial Yuan orders adultery interpretation Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:42 AM PDT Taipei Times Date:  Apr 01, 2020 By: Chen Wei-tzu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer The Council of Grand Justices hears arguments on whether the nation’s law on adultery is unconstitutional in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times Senior judges yesterday met to discuss the constitutionality of a law that makes adultery a criminal offense, before being ordered by Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) to set a date for a constitutional interpretation within the next month. The judges met to discuss Article 239 of the Criminal Code on offenses against marriage and family, after 18 judges had called for a constitutional interpretation of the issue. Taipei District Court Judge Lin Meng-huang (林孟皇) said that while he had previously tried adultery cases and never questioned the law, his feelings changed when trying a case last year involving baseball star Wang Chuan-jia (王傳家). During that case evidence was presented showing Wang naked in bed with a female fan surnamed Tu (杜), which later became public, and Lin felt this was a violation of Wang’s personal privacy, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Premier: Taiwan’s relief budget will reach NT$1 trillion Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:36 AM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 31 March, 2020 By: Natalie Tso Taiwan continues to fight the coronavirus epidemic and is helping industries cope. (CNA file photo) Taiwan’s relief budget for the new coronavirus epidemic will reach NT$1 trillion or US$33 billion. That was the word from Premier Su Tseng-chang on Tuesday. He noted that Taiwan’s relief budget of NT$60 billion (nearly US$2 billion) was passed quickly in the legislature. The premier said other aspects of the nation’s relief measures will probably add up to a total of NT$1 trillion (US$33 billion). The premier also said that the government is reducing expenses for the public. The price of gas has gone down 5% and the price for a tank of gas has gone done NT$100 (over US$3). The government is also giving subsidies to taxi and tour bus drivers and other industries to help them get through this epidemic.    [SOURCE

Is Taiwan Really Buying the ‘Wrong’ Weapons? Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:32 AM PDT Taiwan’s defense procurement strategy makes a lot more sense when viewed through the lens of the U.S. factor. The Diplomat Date: March 31, 2020 By: Corey Lee Bell Credit: Ministry of National Defense, ROC (Taiwan) Few were surprised when Taiwan’s presidential election resulted in the return of the America-friendly Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen this January. As expected, Tsai’s tough stand on the issue of Taiwanese sovereignty was a winner, with the Hong Kong extradition protests serving as a timely warning of the dangers of the “one country two systems” model Beijing wants to impose on Taiwan. The strong election result was hence expected to bring continuity to Tsai’s defense policy and ambitious agenda of military procurements. Yet far from resolving lingering uncertainties, post-election developments have only intensified debate about whether Tsai’s defense policy and acquisition agenda is off-key. Leading up to the election, a number of the Tsai administration’s procurement decisions had already come in for heavy criticism. The opposition candidate Han Kuo-yu, backed by media allies, claimed the DPP was wasting money on white elephants and trophy projects ill-suited to Taiwan’s defensive needs. Particular criticism was directed at the indigenous submarines and Landing Helicopter Deck (LHD) development plans, as well as the decision to purchase 108 M1A2 Abrams Tanks from the United States. Others more pointedly accused Tsai of recklessly stoking cross-strait tensions and adopting a “populist” strategy of promoting “vanity” purchases to bolster support for the government. Some were especially critical of Tsai’s claims that she was the Taiwanese president that has “placed the greatest emphasis on defense,” with the newly formed Left Party subsequently stating it “opposed Tsai Ing-wen’s use of weapons purchases to bolster her election campaign.” Surprisingly, many analysts outside Taiwan agree with these appraisals. A core reason they do so is due to the notable discordance between the government’s new Overall Defense Concept (ODC) and the procurement agenda being pursued by the government. The former, which is widely lauded by international experts, calls for focusing on asymmetric warfare capabilities. The latter appears to be less focused, and while parts of it are aligned with the tenets of the ODC, others are aimed at bolstering Taiwan’s conventional arsenal. Such criticisms do make sense. Asymmetric strategies are those devised to shorten the odds against an opponent one has no chance of matching ship for ship, or aircraft for aircraft — which very much matches Taiwan’s strategic predicament. Yet they come at the cost of appearing militarily powerful — which reflects Tsai’s political quandary. The trade-off comes in the form of sacrificing some capabilities in order to bolster others (typically, offensive for defensive), and being theater-specific, which means losing all-terrain capabilities so as to leverage the natural advantages of a predetermined (and typically proximate) geography. Asymmetric strategies require investing in technologies that give more bang for your buck, that are fit for purpose, and that are — in line with the principles of guerilla warfare — relatively light, mobile, and more capable of evading detection. When properly designed, they are the bane of the generals of powerful belligerents, for while they may not threaten to destroy the enemy’s capacity to fight, they target the cost threshold that could make aggressive action politically unviable.    [FULL  STORY]

New Taipei quarantine buster fined for going to park, hotpot restaurant with girlfriend Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:28 AM PDT New Taipei man fined NT$400,000 for shirking quarantine to exercise in park, eat at hotpot restaurant Taiwan News Date: 2020/03/31 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Chen (third from left). (New Taipei Police Department photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A wealthy man has been fined NT$400,000 (US$13,000) for violating his home quarantine twice, once for exercising in a park and again for going out to eat at a hot pot restaurant for five hours with his girlfriend. According to police, the 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), is from a wealthy family and is currently unemployed. He rented a luxury home in New Taipei City's Banqiao District and went abroad with friends in early March, reported ETtoday. After returning from overseas, Chen was told to undergo a standard home quarantine of 14 days from March 20 to April 5. However, only five days into his quarantine, he apparently became stir-crazy and at about 5 p.m. on March 25, the man went to a nearby riverside park to exercise for about four hours. When police visited his home to check on him, they found that he was nowhere to be found. After waiting for half an hour, Chen finally returned, and officers reported him to the Banqiao District Public Health Center, which levied on him a fine of NT$200,000 for breaking his quarantine, reported UDN.    [FULL  STORY]

Rail, inter-city bus travelers required to wear masks from April 1 Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:23 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 03/31/2020 By: Sunrise Huang and Lee Hsin-Yin CNA file photo Taipei, March 31 (CNA) All members of the public must wear masks on trains and inter-city buses from April 1, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Tuesday. The move to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus is crucial, particularly in anticipation of the traffic surge around the April 2-5 Tomb Sweeping Festival, Lin said after an inspection of the country's high speed rail and regular rail services.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: Practice social distancing, CECC says Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:19 AM PDT KEEP AWAY: People should wear a mask in places where they cannot follow social distancing rules, the CECC said, adding that it would publish detailed guidelines today Taipei Times Date:  Apr 01, 2020 By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter People share a public space in Taipei yesterday after the Central Epidemic Command Center recommended that people stay at least 1m apart outdoors and 1.5m apart indoors due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo: CNA The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced 16 new cases of COVID-19, including two domestic cases, as it urged people to practice social distancing in public spaces by keeping a distance of at least 1m when outdoors and 1.5m indoors. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that seven of the new cases tested positive upon their arrival at the airport, four were under home quarantine, one was under home isolation and two were under self-health management, while the two domestic cases sought treatment on their own. The domestic cases are a man in his 70s and a man in his 20s who had not traveled abroad recently. The older man, the nation’s 307th case, had a meal with case No. 122, who returned from Turkey on March 13 and tested positive on March 20, he said. Forty-six people have been identified as having had contact with the 307th case, Chen said. [FULL  STORY]

Eye On Taiwan

Overseeing quarantine a 24-hour job for district clerks Posted: 30 Mar 2020 07:00 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 30 March, 2020 By: Leslie Liao Keeping tabs on quarantined individuals is a 24-hour job for local clerks Taiwan has kept a tight watch on people under quarantine in order to halt the spread of COVID-19. On the frontlines are local office clerks who check up on the people in quarantine every day. They also deliver supplies, answer questions, and handle complaints. And what’s more, they’re on-call 24 hours a day. A district office clerk in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, checks up on a resident who’s under quarantine. Sometimes she turns on the video function to make sure they are actually in their home. Every day, this clerk has to check up on over 70 people in quarantine. And her work isn’t limited to just making phone calls. Some days, she has to hop on her scooter and deliver food and medical supplies. She does her rounds and delivers the goods, carrying half-a-dozen bags over her shoulders.    [FULL  STORY]

China Rejected Taiwanese Medical Gear Donation at Peak of Its Coronavirus Epidemic Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:55 PM PDT Breitbart Date: 30 Mar 2020 By: Frances Martel HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images The government of Taiwan revealed on Monday that the democratic country had attempted to donate 10,000 protective medical suits to the Communist Party of China in February, as Wuhan coronavirus cases were rising exponentially in the country, but Beijing refused them. The Communist Party rejects Taiwan’s status as a sovereign state, insisting it is a province of China. Taiwan operates full independently of Beijing and has never been ruled from Beijing in its history. As China is an extremely wealthy and influential dictatorship, however, it has successfully limited Taiwan’s diplomatic ties to other states and international organizations. Taiwan maintains diplomatic ties with only 15 states and cannot participate in the United Nations or, currently more pressingly, the World Health Organization (WHO), due to Communist Party bullying. Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong confirmed reports on Monday that, despite the tense relationship between Taipei and Beijing, the Taiwanese government attempted to send 10,000 sets of protective medical suits to China to protect health workers caring for patients infected with the highly contagious virus. The suits would have reportedly gone to Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, where the virus originated. Taiwan News reports that Hubei declined the offer, citing Chen saying that the Communist Party officials claimed “the lead time is too short to deal with.” Focus Taiwan, another local media outlet, blamed China’s Eastern Airlines for rejecting the suits. Eastern Airlines flew 247 Taiwanese citizens home out of Wuhan in early February. Upon landing in Taipei, the Taiwanese government reportedly said it wanted to fill the plane with protective gear before it flew back. Eastern Airlines declined. The airline is majority-owned by the Communist Party. Focus Taiwan notes that the Eastern Airlines rejection came after the rejection from Hubei itself. [FULL  STORY]

Over 70% favor removing ‘China’ from Taiwan passport Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:50 PM PDT 74% of Taiwanese favor removing 'Republic of China' from passport Taiwan News Date: 2020/03/30 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Taiwan passport stickers.  (Wikimedia Commons photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over 70 percent of Taiwanese support changing the English name on Taiwan's passports to avoid confusion with communist China, according to the results of a survey run by the New Power Party (NPP). On Sunday (March 29), the NPP announced that 74.3 percent of survey respondents supported removing the "Republic of China" from the English name on the country's passport and replacing it with "Taiwan" to avoid being confused with communist China. According to the survey, 51.2 percent strongly supported the suggestion, 23.1 percent were supportive, 10.8 percent disagreed, and 6.4 percent strongly disagreed, while 8.5 percent expressed no clear opinion. As for the party affiliations of survey respondents, 90 percent of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members and Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) members supported the name change. Meanwhile, 75 percent of Taiwan People's Party (TPP) members and 52 percent of Kuomintang (KMT) members were in favor of the measure. The survey was conducted from March 23 to March 24 via telephone and gathered 1,085 valid samples. The survey had a confidence level of 95 percent with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent.

Taiwan textile makers respond to need for protective gear amid COVID-19 Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:47 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 03/30/2020 By: Listen Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Several companies in Taiwan's textile sector have been modifying their production lines and ramping up output to help meet the soaring demand for surgical masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Among the companies that have stepped up to the challenge is a "national team" of six manufacturers, which are producing protective hospital gowns that have P3 particulate filters. Leading the team is Makalot Industrial, a top Taiwanese manufacturer that normally supplies textiles to global clothing brands but has moved quickly into the production of special protective gowns for people on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19. Makalot Industrial Chairman Chou Li-ping (周理平) said the company had the advantage of research and development conducted 17 years ago when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic hit Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Tsai: Taiwan joining WHO would benefit all Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:33 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 30 March, 2020 By: Natalie Tso President Tsai (right) was speaking to reporters during a visit to Mytrex Health Technologies on Monday. (CNA photo) President Tsai Ing-wen says she believes Taiwan joining the World Health Organization (WHO) would not only benefit Taiwan, it would also benefit the whole world. She was responding to a question on Monday about a recent statement from the WHO regarding Taiwan. The WHO said that it was up to WHO members, not the organization’s officials, to decide whether Taiwan could join the WHO. That statement followed criticism of WHO Assistant Director General Bruce Aylward, who evaded a question about Taiwan’s membership during an interview with Radio Television Hong Kong journalist Yvonne Tong. President Tsai said, “We hope that after this epidemic, other countries can have a better understanding of Taiwan’s abilities and what it can contribute and really consider allowing Taiwan to become part of the global epidemic prevention system. This would help ensure the health of the Taiwan people, and the world’s medical care systems would also be better off with Taiwan’s participation.”    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Hits Back at WHO Over Collaboration Claims in Virus Fight Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:07 PM PDT Bloomberg Date: Mar 30, 2020 By: Samson Ellis, Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) — Taiwan rejected the World Health Organization’s claims it has worked with the island in combating the global coronavirus outbreak, adding fresh criticism of the organization’s handling of the epidemic. Taiwan’s foreign ministry accused the WHO of being less than entirely truthful about its interaction with the island in a statement Monday, saying its information sharing with the Geveva-based organization was one-sided and hampered by political sensitivities. “Between 2009 and 2019, we have applied to the WHO to take part in 187 technical meetings but have only been invited to 57 of them,” the ministry said. “This shows that the WHO secretariat places restrictions on Taiwan out of political considerations.” In a statement over the weekend, the WHO said it was working with Taiwan in epidemiology training and information sharing. The WHO statement came after weeks of escalating criticism of the organization’s treatment of Taiwan as overly deferential to China, culminating in an interview widely shared online in which a senior WHO official appeared to hang up on a reporter when she asked about Taiwan.   [FULL  STORY]

Traffic accidents claimed eight lives a day last year Posted: 30 Mar 2020 03:08 PM PDT COMMUNITY REACH: The number of fatalities fell from a year earlier, but the percentage of young and elderly victims rose, prompting measures to raise awareness Taipei Times Date: Mar 31, 2020 By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter An average of eight people died every day last year in traffic accidents, Ministry of Transportation and Communications statistics showed yesterday. The ministry unveiled the figures at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where ministry officials were scheduled to brief lawmakers about the nation’s progress in keeping its roads safe for all users. Although the number of people killed in traffic accidents fell from 3,219 in 2012 to 2,865 last year, the figure still came to an average of eight fatalities per day, the ministry said. The number of elderly and young people killed in traffic accidents has been increasing, it said. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s 2 new coronavirus deaths were female diabetic, male traveler Posted: 30 Mar 2020 02:39 PM PDT Man who had traveled to Spain, woman with chronic conditions 2 latest Wuhan coronavirus deaths Taiwan News Date: 2020/03/30 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A female diabetic and a male traveler to Spain were announced on Monday (March 30) as Taiwan's latest deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During its daily press conference on Monday (March 30), the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s were the latest fatalities caused by COVID-19. The woman is believed to be part of a cluster infection of nine in a hospital, while the man had recently traveled to Spain. The woman had a history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases. On Feb. 14, she was hospitalized and treated for hypoglycemia and general fatigue, but she had not yet developed any respiratory symptoms at the time.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan, Australia to exchange raw materials to fight COVID-19 Posted: 30 Mar 2020 02:33 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date:\ 03/30/2020 By: Wu Po-wei and Joseph Yeh Image taken from Pixabay for illustrative purposes only Taipei, March 30 (CNA) Taiwan and Australia have agreed to exchange raw materials in the near future to help each other fight the new coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOFA) announced Monday. In a Facebook post, the MOEA said Australia has agreed to provide 1 million liters of edible alcohol to be turned into 4.22 million 300 milliliter bottles of 75 percent-alcohol hand sanitizer. In return, Taiwan will provide 3 metric tons of non-woven fabric to Australia, the key raw material used in surgical masks, when its production capacity has stabilized, the MOEA said. The MOEA did not say when this exchange of materials will take place. According to the ministry, Taiwan relies heavily on imported alcohol, with around 90 percent of its total alcohol supply coming from Australia. Taiwan currently has a sufficient alcohol supply, the MOEA said, and its two main alcohol-based hand sanitizer suppliers, Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. and Taiwan Sugar Corp., have daily outputs of 200,000 300 ml bottles and 20,000 300 ml bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, respectively.    [FULL  STORY]

Traffic accidents claimed eight lives a day last year Posted: 30 Mar 2020 02:13 PM PDT COMMUNITY REACH: The number of fatalities fell from a year earlier, but the percentage of young and elderly victims rose, prompting measures to raise awareness Taipei Times Date: Mar 31, 2020 By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter An average of eight people died every day last year in traffic accidents, Ministry of Transportation and Communications statistics showed yesterday. The ministry unveiled the figures at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where ministry officials were scheduled to brief lawmakers about the nation’s progress in keeping its roads safe for all users. Although the number of people killed in traffic accidents fell from 3,219 in 2012 to 2,865 last year, the figure still came to an average of eight fatalities per day, the ministry said. The number of elderly and young people killed in traffic accidents has been increasing, it said. Last year, 457,382 people were killed or injured in traffic accidents, which resulted in estimated social cost of more than NT$500 billion (US$16.5 billion), the ministry said.    [FULL  STORY]