Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators yesterday urged the government to negotiate a reciprocal “vaccine passport” with other nations and to set clear standards for reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that preparations can be made early, even while the vaccination rate remains low.
The appeal came a day after the party caucus donated NT$1 million (US$35,644) of needles to remote medical centers to help their vaccination efforts.
Many nations have been proposing so-called “vaccine passports” as part of plans to reopen borders, and restart travel and the economy, TPP deputy caucus convener Ann Kao (高虹安) told a news conference.
Photo copied by Wu Shu-wei, Taipei Times
The EU on July 1 introduced the “EU Digital COVID Certificate,” issued to those inoculated with an approved vaccine, who have taken a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or have recently recovered from COVID-19, she said.
Holders of the certificate can travel between EU nations without any restrictions or additional testing, she added.
Japan on Monday launched its own vaccine passport, enabling holders to enter Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Turkey without quarantine or a PCR test, and Tokyo is pursuing additional partners, Kao said, adding that South Korea has agreed to waive quarantine requirements with certain documentation.
However, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) has said that Taiwan would not adopt a vaccine passport, as the vaccination rate is still relatively low and such programs are controversial, she said.
“No wonder people in other nations are more willing to get vaccinated than in Taiwan,” Kao said, asking why plans cannot be made for when the vaccination rate passes a certain threshold.
Although the COVID-19 alert has been lowered to level 2, many confusing and awkward regulations remain, TPP caucus convener Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) said.
An example is reopening water-based activities, but requiring masks to be worn at all times, Chiu said.
Masks need to be replaced if they get wet, “but how are people supposed to keep extra masks dry while out on the water?” he said.
He also questioned how dragon boat team members are meant to maintain social distancing.
Meanwhile, local governments have been left to decide whether to allow dine-in services, resulting in more confusion, especially as movement between different cities and counties is common, he added.
Chiu said that he believes the government has a long-term plan, adding that it should be announced as soon as possible.
If people knew the government’s goals, they could better adapt to the challenges and understand what they are striving for, he said.
Otherwise, people would be left anxiously waiting for the next delivery of vaccines or news of a further lifting of restrictions, he added.
‘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
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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
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
RSS