Taipei City Government yesterday became embroiled in a conflict with the central government about how to respond to and prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Taipei has insisted that the disease be listed as a statutory communicable disease, but their request was turned down by the Cabinet's Department of Health.
In response to the Cabinet's refusal, the director of Taipei's Bureau of Health, Chiou Shu-ti (
Instead of naming SARS as a statutory communicable disease, the DOH has termed the disease as a "quasi-statutory communicable disease."
Designating SARS as a statutory communicable disease would allow heath authorities to quarantine any individuals suspected of being infecting with the disease.
So far, the DOH has only separated "probable cases" of SARS for medical treatment, while those who have had direct contact with the patients were not subject to any quarantine measures for observation.
Chiou said though the DOH has activated the reporting mechanism for SARS cases nation-wide, prevention measures would only be partially implemented if the disease was not legally listed to authorize health officials to enforce the necessary quarantine measures.
"I have never seen any legal terms such as a `quasi-statutory communicable disease' before," Chiou said yesterday.
According to the Disease Prevention Law, Chiou said, the central authority has the power to designate any new disease whose cause or cure may not be known yet under the "fourth category of statutory communicable disease" for the control and prevention of the disease.
SARS can be applied to a legal framework, Chiou said, in order to allow the health authorities to conduct prevention measures.
"In Singapore, the heath authority has demanded that hundreds of suspected SARS cases stay home as a preventitive measure, whereas here in Taipei, we have encountered difficulties enforcing such a demand as there is no legal ground for us to act," Chiou said.
"I don't understand why the DOH is not interested in designating the disease under the existing fourth category as a statutory communicable disease, and instead has created a new term `quasi-statutory communicable disease,'" he said.
Chiu said that when health officials carry out disease-prevention work, they could infringe on people's rights by closing schools or companies, providing personal medical records, limiting the mobility of individuals and investigating an individual's health background. and history.
A legal basis is necessary so that prevention work and human rights can both be taken care of, Chiu said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first