HEALTH
Cases stay above 40,000
Daily new COVID-19 cases in Taiwan exceeded 40,000 for the third consecutive day yesterday, as the nation confirmed 45,269 new local infections and 57 deaths from the disease, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said. The deceased ranged in age from their teens to their 90s, and all but four had underlying health issues, such as cancer and kidney-related diseases, CECC data showed. New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases, with 9,775, followed by Taichung with 5,854, Taipei with 5,401, Taoyuan with 4,758, Kaohsiung with 3,704 and Tainan with 2,662, the CECC said in a statement. Changhua County had 2,091 new cases, Hsinchu County 1,304, Hsinchu City 1,204, Pingtung County 1,140, Miaoli County 1,089, Yilan County 1,050, Keelung 975 and Yunlin County 972. Nantou County had 842 cases, Hualien County 689, Chiayi County 685, Chiayi City 461, Taitung County 289, Kinmen County 161, Penghu County 142, and Lienchiang County 21, the CECC said.
TRANSPORTATION
Truck stops rail services
Train services between New Taipei City’s Fulong (福隆) and Yilan County’s Dali (大里) were briefly suspended yesterday after a tractor-trailer truck traveling along Provincial Highway No. 2 overturned and became stuck on a hillside above the railway tracks, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA). Police said the incident occurred near the highway’s 116km marker at about 7:48am, when the truck’s driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed through the guardrails along the roadside. The truck overturned and crashed into a thicket of trees, coming to rest on a hillside just 10m above the tracks. Service was restored on the outer track at 1pm and on the inner track at about 2:30pm, the TRA said. The driver, surnamed Huang (黃), freed himself after the incident and was treated in a hospital for minor injuries. A breath alcohol test conducted at the scene came back negative, police said.
TRADE
Deals signed for US crops
An agricultural mission on an official trip to Washington on Wednesday signed three letters of intent with US exporters to buy US$3.2 billion of crops next year and in 2024. Witnessed by 28 US lawmakers and several legislators from Taiwan, the delegation, led by Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城), signed the pacts with US agricultural industry associations to purchase soybeans, corn and wheat. Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said agricultural products play an important role in the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade. Taipei and Washington are scheduled to hold the first round of negotiations this fall on the trade initiative covering 11 areas with the goal of working toward a trade agreement.
DIPLOMACY
Pact signed with Belize
Belize yesterday signed a coast guard cooperation agreement with Taiwan covering search and rescue, fisheries enforcement and combating transnational crime at sea. Belizean Minister of National Defense and Border Security Florencio Marin Jr said the pact is part of Belize’s military diplomacy to strengthen partnership with its allies, the Belizean Ministry of National Defense and Border Security said in a statement. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement was first signed by then-Ocean Affairs Council minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) in Taiwan and sent to Marin Jr to be signed in Belize.
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
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