Taiwan is manufacturing certified and high-quality products to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, adding that many of the products have also secured certification in other countries.
“The nation provides certified and effective disease-prevention products to the world. People can be reassured that products with Taiwan Excellence Awards certification are safe, reliable and high-quality,” said Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺), director-general of the ministry’s Bureau of Foreign Trade.
The bureau announced the launch of a virtual healthcare pavilion on the Taiwan External Trade Development Council’s (TAITRA) Web site (http://anti-epidemic.taiwantrade.com). It features 42 disease-prevention products made by 33 domestic companies recognized with Taiwan Excellence Awards, ranging from masks, protective clothing and test kits to respiratory devices and disinfection robots, the bureau said.
Through the online pavilion, interested buyers and journalists from more than 280 countries can watch Taiwanese manufacturers’ presentations, it said.
The pavilion’s launch came after some countries, including Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands, reportedly rejected Chinese-made equipment designed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
Testing kits and masks made in China were below standards or defective, officials from those countries said.
Taiwan can export disease-prevention products, because the products and the facilities they are manufactured in meet health certification standards at home and in destination countries, Chen said.
“As the world combats the spread of COVID-19, we want to contribute to the world by engaging in free trade. Taiwan would not forget to help others, even though it regulates the export of certain products to protect its people,” he said.
The nation has the capacity to produce ventilators used in intensive care units, but it needs to work with overseas partners, Chen said, adding that some key international companies have expressed an interest in working with Taiwanese manufacturers.
Demand for Taiwanese-made disease-prevention products surged after the nation earned worldwide renown for successfully containing the COVID-19 outbreak and attracted international media coverage, Chen said, adding that local manufacturers have also earned the trust of their foreign counterparts due to their honesty.
TAITRA president Walter Yeh (葉明水) said that the products featured in the virtual pavilion are badly needed in countries hit hardest by the pandemic, adding that the council has included 130 domestic manufacturers of disease-prevention products in its ecosystem and has recommended them to overseas buyers.
The council has also facilitated exchanges between doctors from National Cheng Kung University Hospital and 14,000 medical personnel from India via an online conference, Yeh said, adding that a similar exchange also took place between doctors from Changhua Christian Hospital and those from Myanmar.
The council hopes to conduct similar exchanges with medical personnel from Bangladesh, Indonesia and other countries covered by the government’s New Southbound Policy, he said.
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