CHARITY
Hospital raises NT$6m
Taiwanese have donated more than NT$6 million (US$197,968) to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, following an appeal for help on Wednesday by an Italian priest who has worked for more than 50 years building healthcare services in rural Taiwan. Catholic Father Giuseppe Didone issued a public letter asking for donations to the fundraising center of Camillian Saint Mary’s Hospital Luodong in Yilan County, which would be used to purchase emergency provisions, including masks and protective gowns, for medical personnel in Italy. The hospital said its fundraising deadline is April 15. Because of restrictions on the purchase and export of medical supplies, the Camillian order, which operates the hospital, said it is seeking permission to purchase the supplies locally and ship them to Italy. If that fails, the order said it would consider trying to purchase the products abroad.
HEALTH
Fast-food takes on virus
Fast-food restaurants have said they are taking additional precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19, in response to new social distancing guidelines announced on Tuesday by the Central Epidemic Command Center. KFC is encouraging people to use its “contact-free” pick-up and delivery option to reduce the risk of infection and is posting notices at its outlets of distancing guidelines. TKK Fried Chicken said it has asked employees to remind customers to stay at least 1.5m apart indoors. At McDonald’s locations, in-store and delivery workers are required to wear masks and wash their hands once per hour, and have been asked to voluntarily test and record their temperatures. MOS Burger employees are required to take their temperature before starting their shifts and to wear a face mask while on duty.
DIPLOMACY
US calls for WHA inclusion
The US Department of State on Friday called for Taiwan to receive observer status in the World Health Assembly (WHA), and said its model for fighting COVID-19 could benefit countries worldwide. “Taiwan is a leader in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The United States and Taiwan hope to share the Taiwan Model with countries around the world. Taiwan has a role to play in global health and should be a World Health Assembly observer,” the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs tweeted. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would push for an “appropriate role” for Taiwan at the WHA, the policy-setting body of the WHO. On Tuesday, Taiwanese and US officials held a virtual forum to discuss efforts to reinstate Taiwan’s WHA observer status and to share the successful “Taiwan model” of containing COVID-19.
TOURISM
Arrivals drop significantly
The number of passengers arriving in Taiwan has continued to drop dramatically month-on-month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said on Friday. The number of arrivals handled by airports and sea ports were 2,262,692 in January, 1,136,655 in February and 215,662 last month, when the government began to clamp down on travel, such as banning the entry of all foreign nationals with few exceptions from March 19. The number of daily arrivals last month averaged about 7,000, an NIA official said, adding that the figures for March 19 and March 20 were 6,511 and 5,607 respectively. International flights in and out of the nation’s airports have also declined.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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