Taiwan warned the WHO and China about possible human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus at the end of last year, but the global health body did not make it public, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Department of International Organizations Director-General Bob Chen (陳龍錦) made the remark at a news briefing in Taipei, when asked about statements made by US Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.
“Dec. 31— that’s the same day Taiwan first tried to warn WHO of human-human transmission. Chinese authorities meanwhile silenced doctors and refused to admit human-human transmission until Jan. 20, with catastrophic consequences,” Ortagus wrote on Twitter yesterday.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Her tweet was in response to a post by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩), who wrote that the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission had issued a notice about the virus on Dec. 31 last year.
The commission’s notice reported 27 cases, including seven severe ones, in Wuhan, but said that no obvious transmission among people had been observed.
The Centers for Disease Control on Dec. 31 last year did ask China and the WHO’s International Health Regulations contact for information about the abnormal outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, while the ministry’s representative office in Geneva, Switzerland, also contacted the WHO secretariat, Chen said.
On the same day, the centers started implementing onboard inspections on direct flights from Wuhan landing in Taiwan, he said.
The WHO later replied that it received the message and would transfer it to other experts, but did not make it public, he said.
There are e-mail records of the communication between the centers and the WHO, he added.
Taiwan’s disease prevention strategy was predicated on the concept that the virus could be transmitted among people, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
The nation thanks the US and other like-minded nations for their support, and would work with the global community to contain the virus, she said.
Meanwhile, the WHO secretariat is still evaluating whether to convene the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly from May 17 to 21, turn it into a virtual meeting or postpone it until autumn, Chen said.
Although it is almost impossible for WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to invite Taiwan to join the assembly as an observer, the ministry would continue to push for Taiwan’s participation in the meeting, he said.
In other developments, British Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab has advised all Britons who are usually based in the UK to return home soon, given the rapidly changing situation regarding travel restrictions and flights, the British Office Taipei said in a statement.
The advice does not apply to Britons who are residents in Taiwan.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS