Cheng Hsin General Hospital in Taipei has been fined NT$300,000 (US$10,750) for allegedly administering COVID-19 vaccines to former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and his wife, as well as to eight volunteers at the hospital, as they were not on the nation’s vaccination priority list, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said on Thursday.
The hospital reportedly vaccinated 84-year-old Lien and his 78-year-old wife, Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), citing humanitarian considerations, as he was undergoing treatment at the hospital for a malignant tumor.
The hospital allegedly also gave COVID-19 shots to eight volunteers who were not on the central government’s priority list, Huang said.
While some categories of healthcare volunteers are on the priority list, the eight were not eligible because they had no volunteer service records and were not registered with the Taipei Department of Health, she said.
The health department fined the hospital NT$300,000 on Tuesday, based on the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), Huang said.
Asked about former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who wrote on Facebook that he had received his vaccination at the hospital, Huang said that the department is investigating the facility’s vaccination practices.
On Wednesday, Ting said that the hospital on May 26 notified him that he is in the top vaccine priority group, adding that he later received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine there.
The Central Epidemic Command Center’s vaccination list gives top priority to medical workers, older people and at-risk groups, as Taiwan is fighting to control the spread of COVID-19 amid a shortage of vaccines.
Some people have been jumping the line to get vaccinated, using their privilege and connections.
Two Taipei facilities, Good Liver Clinic and Dianthus Pediatric Clinic, were earlier this month fined NT$4 million and NT$2.3 million respectively for administering vaccines to people who were not eligible.
To date, 7 percent of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS