As the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend nears, there is a sense of uneasiness that there might be a travel frenzy that would exacerbate Taiwan’s COVID-19 outbreak.
From President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) plea: “If you love your hometown and your family, please stay put,” to the popular Internet post: “If you go home to worship your ancestors this year, you’ll be the one worshiped next year,” public figures and other Internet users have expended a great deal of effort persuading people not to travel during the holiday.
The Tainan City Government is offering cash incentives to people who return their tickets, while others have floated ideas such as combining this holiday with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
It is encouraging that most are following suit: The Taiwan Railways Administration on Monday said that there has been a 70 to 80 percent return rate on tickets for this weekend, with only about 5 percent of the seats reserved. Many fewer tickets have been sold for the Taiwan High-Speed Rail as well.
Hopefully, all of the nation’s residents will rally and weather this crisis together. Of course, there are exceptions and those who need to go home should not be stigmatized.
With the extra time and money saved from staying put, those who can might want to support those who are seriously affected by the outbreak, and the people and organizations who are trying to help them. For many disadvantaged people nationwide, the outbreak is much worse than having their holiday plans dashed — and those who are doing their best to help them should receive more recognition.
For example, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation (伊甸社會福利基金會) yesterday said that its bakeries, run by people with disabilities, are struggling to sell their Dragon Boat Festival gift packs — sales are down more than 70 percent — as many businesses have canceled orders.
A similar challenge is facing the Down Syndrome Foundation, which continues to provide services despite a sharp drop in sales at its Abrazo bakery workshop.
Charities in general have been hit hard since the pandemic began — and who does not like to receive cookies?
With school canceled for the rest of the academic year, it is easy to forget that not every household has access to the Internet or possesses the electronic devices needed to keep their child current with their studies.
World Vision Taiwan said that 83 percent of the households it serves lack Internet access and 43 percent do not have an electronic device for personal use, while 22 percent do not have either. Civic groups and businesses are working together to help alleviate the need — and this is also a worthy venture to consider supporting.
Mental health is an issue that might be overlooked in times of crisis, but it is even more critical during the outbreak, as emotions and stress levels run high. Many are sure to lose access to therapy or feel uncomfortable going to a clinic, and psychologists are calling for the relaxation of requirements for online therapy.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union is offering one-time free online sessions until the end of the month.
This covers just a fraction of those who truly need help, and those who are staying indoors this weekend should try to see what they can do.
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS