The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday warned people planning to visit Hong Kong to be alert to the dangers of catching atypical pneumonia there, as a hospital in Taiwan treated a couple suspected of contracting the potentially deadly disease in Guangdong Province.
Chen Tzai-chin (
Chen said the couple's condition could not be confirmed until tests are completed on Monday.
PHOTO: AP
Chen declined to identify the couple, saying only that the businessman suffered symptoms similar to those of atypical pneumonia after coming back from Guangdong, and his wife's symptoms appeared after she began taking care of her husband.
Earlier yesterday council Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (
"We are hopeful that local citizens intending to travel to Hong Kong can steer clear of crowded and poorly ventilated public places and maintain vigilance regarding their own health and safety," Chen said, adding that officials will continue monitoring developments in the health situation in Hong Kong.
PHOTO: AFP
As many Taiwanese people often make pleasure trips to or transit stops in Hong Kong, staff members at CKS airport have stepped up a publicity campaign to remind Hong Kong-bound travelers of the new health hazard.
They distributed flyers and put up posters to inform outbound visitors of the atypical pneumonia alert.
The Department of Health issued a similar warning Thursday.
Taiwanese travelers who develop symptoms of pneumonia or flu after visiting Hong Kong or Vietnam should see a doctor immediately and list the places they have toured to facilitate diagnosis of their disease, the DOH said in a press release.
Many diseases, such as epidemic influenza and legionnaire's disease, can display symptoms of atypical pneumonia and should be treated carefully, the DOH press release said.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS