Prominent businesspeople and figures in entertainment yesterday said that they were on a list and had been vaccinated for COVID-19 at a Good Liver Clinic (好心肝診所) branch in Taipei.
PChome Online Inc chairman Jan Hung-tze (詹宏志) said that he was on the list and had received the vaccination at one of the clinic’s branches, as did TV and radio host Alvin Hou (侯昌明), actors Kuo Tzu-chien (郭子乾) and Jamie Weng (翁家明), and iQiyi executive Young Min (楊鳴).
Judicial personnel are investigating alleged breaches of the law amid a public outcry over the vaccinations, which the clinic said were conducted in the belief that all of Taipei’s healthcare workers had been inoculated.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Critics said that the clinic had favored “wealthy and famous” people to receive its allocation of AstraZeneca vaccines, which would be a breach of Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) policy to prioritize frontline medical personnel, police and emergency-response workers, among others.
Lists published online have been claimed to be of names of those in line to receive vaccines at the clinic.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that he had handed a list, apparently of names of people who Good Liver Clinic had vaccinated, over to prosecutors.
Prosecutors on Thursday questioned clinic director Sheu Jin-chuan (許金川) and 11 others, and searched clinic offices, as well as Taipei Department of Health offices.
Prosecutors said that corruption charges would be brought if evidence shows that health officials colluded with the clinic to obtain extra allotments of vaccines through falsified requisitions.
The Taipei Medical Association condemned the Taipei City Government in a press release.
“At the time this was written, more than 5,000 medical personnel at Taipei hospitals and clinics have not received jabs, but Good Liver Clinic was provided with vaccines to inoculate people affiliated with its office and even members of the public,” the statement said, demanding that the city government and the clinic explain who authorized its actions.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have initiated an investigation into reports of “VIP access” to COVID-19 vaccines at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
Elsewhere, Yunlin County prosecutors said that they are investigating possible breaches of CECC policy after Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) denied “pushing into line” for COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of her brother, former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), and his daughter, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡).
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra