Virus Outbreak: CECC messages warn against crowding
Virus Outbreak: CECC messages warn against crowdingTARGETED TEXTS: The center’s head said that visitor numbers at scenic spots were greater than expected and people did not do a very good job of social distancingBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday sent two warning text messages to urge people to practice social distancing, especially by avoiding crowded scenic areas. The two messages were sent at 11:55am on the third day of the four-day Tomb Sweeping Day weekend, reminding people about social distancing and hand hygiene to help prevent COVID-19 infection. Practice social distancing of at least 1.5m indoors and 1m outdoors, or wear a mask. Please wear a mask and seek immediate medical attention if you are feeling ill and tell the doctor your travel history. The CECC added that people should wear a mask on public transportation and cooperate with body temperature policies.
Source:Taipei Times
April 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Larger fines necessary for sex harassment: legislator
Larger fines necessary for sex harassment: legislatorPEOPLE IN POWER: KMT Legislator Wan Mei-ling said many cases that occur in the workplace involve people abusing their authority to sexually harass colleaguesBy Chen Yun and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲) is calling for larger fines for sexual harassment, saying that current fines have failed to act as a deterrent amid a growing number of cases. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-ling stands behind a sign that reads: "Education must not become chaotic" while speaking at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on March 6. Wan and other advocates of increasing fines have submitted draft amendments to Chapter 5 of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法), which stipulates the penalties for offenses. One particular example is in the military, where most sexual harassment cases go unreported, Wang said, adding that the Control Yuan has issued corrections to the Ministry of National Defense over the issue. Media companies that publish the names, work titles or other personal information of victims in sexual harassment cases should be fined NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, she added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Donations help raise nation’s status
The donation includes 2 million to the US, 7 million to Europe and 1 million to diplomatic allies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Appreciative remarks from some of those nations have been posted on social media, including from the European Commission and the US Security Council. Through donations, the public would learn to cherish the nation’s medical resources, while the world can see the caring side of Taiwan, she said. Given the nation’s medical strength, the government should develop a corresponding strategy to consolidate the nation’s footing in the global community, international law specialist Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩) said. Taiwan is able to export its medical services, and any medical exports should be allowed after domestic needs are met, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Doctor warns of smoking dangers
Doctor warns of smoking dangersEARLY DETECTION KEY: A doctor said that a common lung cancer often shows no symptoms in the early stages and recommends that smokers be checked for itBy Chen Chien-chih and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerA woman in her 50s who does not smoke was diagnosed with lung cancer after inhaling secondhand smoke from her husband and son, a doctor said on Thursday, urging people to be mindful of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Asia University Hospital doctor Liu Po-yi (劉柏毅) said a woman, surnamed Lee (李), was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after she sought treatment following two weeks of excessive coughing. For more than 30 years, cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan, with lung cancer claiming the most lives over the past decade, Liu said, citing data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Warning: Smoking can damage your health. Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei TimesClinical statistics show that people with lung adenocarcinoma are predominantly non-smokers, and the average age of patients is decreasing, Liu added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan models battling COVID-19
Taiwan models battling COVID-19By Joseph Tse-hei Lee 李榭熙The “Wuhan pneumonia” outbreak has become a pandemic, but many countries have yet to come to grips with the worsening severity of this medical crisis. The frequency of outbreaks — from SARS in 2003 to swine flu in 2009 and today’s COVID-19 — and their rapid rate of transmission owe much to globalization. Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is a respected epidemiologist, while his successor, vice president-elect William Lai (賴清德), specializes in public health and rehabilitative medicine. The government has canceled public gatherings, implemented mandatory quarantines, and promoted the importance of personal hygiene through the media and public health education. At a time when many countries are still developing measures to cope with the pandemic, Taiwan has much to offer to the outside world.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Baseball, soccer to return next weekend without fans
Virus Outbreak: Baseball, soccer to return next weekend without fansBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwanese sports are to return next weekend, with the baseball and soccer leagues starting their new seasons, although there are to be restrictions for spectators and protective measures due to COVID-19. The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) season was originally scheduled to begin on March 14, then pushed back to March 28, before settling on next Saturday. Baseball fans are being urged to watch the games on TV or use online streaming, Feng said. The nation’s top soccer leagues also begin next weekend, with three matches in the women’s Taiwan Mulan Football League at Taipei Municipal Stadium next Saturday. Similar to the baseball, there is to be a ban on spectators at all the matches to protect the players and officials.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Fines authorized for unmasked riders
Chen yesterday added that the government would fine those who do not wear masks on public transportation after being asked to, citing the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法). Meanwhile, the CECC yesterday reported nine additional cases of COVID-19 — seven imported and two locally transmitted — bringing the nation’s total to 348. One of the two locally transmitted cases was No. The CECC would test her husband for the virus to clarify the transmission path, he said. The security guard transmitted the virus to the woman, a resident in the complex, possibly because the two had chatted without wearing masks, Chen Shih-chung said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Ministry eyeing virus prevention projects
Approved projects would be able to utilize the computational powers of the National Center for High Performance Computing, the ministry said, adding that projects whose results would be immediately applicable would be prioritized. Projects to investigate the genetic evolution of viruses, protein analysis, data mining or image recognition could all apply, it said. The data sets contain information across different fields — government management, scientific research, linguistic data, medical and security, it said. Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said the program aims to be a step toward using technology to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The ministry is accepting applications until June 30, although it is possible the program would be extended, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Companies to get salary assistance
Virus Outbreak: Companies to get salary assistanceSTIMULUS FUNDS: Companies that report weak sales can apply for the financial aid, while subsidies for a one-time injection of working capital would also be availableBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that it would subsidize up to 40 percent of workers’ salaries for businesses that have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin announces a special budget on Thursday in Taipei. The financial aid comes on top of another plan launched last week, which includes a 5 to 10 percent discount on utility rates for companies with at least a 15 percent decline in revenue on an annual basis. The ministry said that it is also offering to defer rent for one to three years with no interest for companies operating production sites in the nation’s industrial parks and export processing zones. The coupons would not be usable for purchases on e-commerce platforms, delivery services, convenience stores, supermarkets or hypermarkets, which have reported growing sales amid the virus crisis, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Lunchbox sales suspension being mulled, TRA says
Virus Outbreak: Lunchbox sales suspension being mulled, TRA saysBy Cheng Wei-chi / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said that it is mulling suspending the sale of its popular lunchboxes out of concern that passengers eating them would not be able to maintain a safe distance from other passengers. Passengers have been advised by the TRA to maintain a distance of 1.5m from other passengers if they are eating onboard trains due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak, that number has dropped by about 30 percent, with the number sold onboard having fallen by about 50 percent, it added. Considering the plunging sales, a suspension would not have too big an impact on revenue, the TRA said. The number of passengers using TRA services plummeted by 22.53 percent last month when it sold 525,755 tickets compared with 678,664 tickets in February.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Beware dubious ads: agency
Virus Outbreak: Beware dubious ads: agencyDUE DILIGENCE: The Consumer Protection Committee said that people should fact-check suspect ads and information related to COVID-19 to avoid becoming a ‘covidiot’By Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee on Thursday warned people not to fall for dubious advertisements amid the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. People should fact-check any dubious advertisement or information about COVID-19 and remember not to pass on any suspicious information if they do not wish to become a “covidiot,” the committee said. They face charges of spreading false information about the pandemic, it said. Separately yesterday, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital issued a statement refuting an online rumor that the hospital has shut down due to the pandemic. The hospital’s hours have only been curtailed for the long holiday weekend, officials said, reminding the public that disseminating misinformation could result in criminal prosecution.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Penghu residents argue over school plaque’s home
Penghu residents argue over school plaque’s homeBy Liu Yu-ching and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA plaque from a now-defunct elementary school has sparked a dispute in Penhghu County between residents of Yuanbei Township (員貝) and a junior-high school in Magong City (馬公). The plaque, originally from Yuanbei Elementary School, is on display at Wenguang Junior High School, but Yuanbei residents want it returned to the township. A school plaque from the now-closed Yuanbei Elementary School in Penghu County is pictured on Monday in Wenguang Junior High School in the county’s Magong City. Its inscription reads: “To know etiquette, to be just, to remain principled and incorruptible, and to know right from wrong.”However, Yuanbei residents dispute that narrative. Although Yuanbei Elementary School was decommissioned in 1995, it remains a fond memory for many Yuanbei residents and the village hoped to retain the plaque — something hundreds of Yuanbei school students remembered — as a memento of the school, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Lawmaker pushes animal protection police proposal
Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network secretary-general Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) has continued to push the idea, saying the nation urgently needs a dedicated animal protection police force for five reasons: current animal protection officials do not have the authority to obtain search warrants and lack knowledge about animal protection; they do not do shift work, so they cannot promptly deal with cases that occur at night; they do not have judicial authority and cannot arrest people suspected of animal abuse; police officers are already overworked; and even when animal abuse cases are handled by the police, they are ultimately sent to animal protection authorities for follow-up. Chen said they were the responsibility of animal protection officials, but that police would be called in if it is deemed a criminal offense. “Although these animal protection officials are public servants, their lack of power to enforce the law means that people might question their authority,” she said, adding that animal rights groups support the establishment of an animal protection police force. Only officers specialized in animal protection can deal with such issues, he said. The NPA could first train a small number of officers to handle animal abuse cases, and then establish an animal protection police force after they have gained experience, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Older Amis singer records album of traditional songs
Older Amis singer records album of traditional songsBy Hua Mang-Ching and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerAn 81-year-old Amis woman has recorded an album of traditional Amis songs in an effort to preserve Amis music. The album, titled Radiw Sanay, meaning “just sing” in Amis, features 18 traditional songs sung by Chien Yen-chun (簡燕春), also known as Osay Hongay, who said that she learned the songs when she was 17 from an elder and is now passing them down to the younger generation. Eighty-one-year-old Amis woman Chien Yen-chun, foreground, sings traditional songs in Hualien County on Saturday last week. Contributors include several young people from the community who conducted field surveys, recorded sounds and organized workshops on traditional Amis songs, she said. Ho Chia-jung (何嘉榮), also known as Kaniw, a 23-year-old who last year moved back to Hualien after graduating from university, learned how to sing traditional songs from Chien in a workshop and contributed to the album.
Source:Taipei Times
April 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Economic stimulus package expanded
Virus Outbreak: Economic stimulus package expandedTRILLION PROPOSED: The premier said the goal was to keep ‘businesses solvent, the unemployment rate down, transportation and logistics going, and cash flowing’By Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Executive Yuan yesterday announced an expanded economic stimulus package totaling NT$1.05 trillion (US$34.64 billion), including NT$81.6 billion in subsidies for employers to prevent a spike in unemployment. The NT$150 billion increase in the special budget is to be paid for by increasing national debt by NT$100 billion in the current fiscal year and NT$50 billion in the next, Chu said. Overall, the package is to make up about 5.4 percent of this year’s nominal GDP, he said. The transportation ministry plans to give the nation’s approximately 92,000 taxi and 16,000 tour bus drivers NT$10,000 per month for three months, while the economic ministry would issue a monthly subsidy of NT$10,000 to about 1 million self-employed people for three months, he said. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) approved a draft amendment to the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) to accommodate the increase in the special budget.
Source:Taipei Times
April 02, 2020 15:56 UTC