The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday asked people to change their Facebook profile pictures to an image with the words “Taiwan Needs Vaccines” as KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) questioned the government’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.
“People are worried and afraid, and they have many more questions in their hearts to ask” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Chiang told an online news conference at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei.
The primary question is: “Where is your vaccine policy?” Chiang said.
Photo: CNA
With more than 6,000 people confirmed to have COVID-19 in a short period, Tsai should tell the public when they can expect at least 70 percent of the population to be fully vaccinated against the virus, he said.
Chiang said he believes that as long as the nation has access to doses of COVID-19 vaccines, it is capable of administering them “in the shortest time,” citing the speed with which the government-funded influenza vaccination program was carried out last year.
“The government’s arrogance, complacency and incorrect policy have caused our national crisis today,” he said.
Tsai should commit to allowing all Taiwanese to receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of charge, he said.
He added that while he was not opposed to locally manufactured vaccines, he wondered whether people would feel comfortable receiving any vaccine that had not first obtained international certification.
The KMT has asked KMT deputy secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) to form a “vaccine countermeasures committee” to integrate all the channels within the party through which COVID-19 vaccines can be sought, and seek opportunities to obtain vaccines and resources used for disease prevention, Chiang said.
He and other party members wore black to the news conference to mourn the loss of more than 100 Taiwanese to COVID-19, he added.
The party chairman and KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) attended the event in person, while representatives from the KMT’s caucuses in 22 city and county councils joined them virtually in calling for vaccines.
The KMT urged the public to take action, starting by changing their Facebook profile pictures to an image of black text in English and Chinese reading: “Taiwan Needs Vaccines,” on a white background.
The purpose is to show the world, and the government, “the people’s most pressing need,” the party said.
The KMT asked people to hang a yellow ribbon in a window or from their balcony as a plea to the government, and to wear a “Taiwan Needs Vaccines” sticker on their clothes, or to place it on their vehicle or other surfaces, to spread the message.
People can share photographs of themselves taking part in the campaign on the KMT’s Facebook page, Wang said.
Chiang and Lee posed for photographs at the news conference giving the “V” sign.
The KMT on Twitter urged people to join its “V-Sign Movement,” saying that the “V” represents “vaccines, vaccination and victory over the pandemic.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is