Virus Outbreak: Level 3 alert issued for more nations
63 was part of the same tour to Egypt as the 55th case reported on Sunday; and No. 64 studied at the same Spanish school as the 58th case reported on Sunday, he said. 65 to 67 were on the same 15-person tour to Turkey as the 56th and 57th cases reported on Sunday, he added. Travelers from these countries would be put under 14-day mandatory home quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan, the center said. “A wave of cases imported from other countries is rapidly rising, totaling 44 so far, so we urge people to refrain from unnecessary overseas travel and to protect their health,” Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups gather in Taipei to mark Wild Lily movement
Groups gather in Taipei to mark Wild Lily movement‘PURSUE REAL CHANGE’: Reform is not yet complete, the groups said and called for the establishment of a pluralistic democratic system at the legislatureBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterRepresentatives from several groups yesterday gathered in front of the main gate of Taipei’s Liberty Square to mark the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Wild Lily student movement. Representatives from civic groups mark the 30th anniversary of the Wild Lily student movement in front of the main gate of Taipei’s Liberty Square yesterday. “Today, 30 years later, we mention the Wild Lily [movement] again not just to commemorate history,” he said. Chou Ko-jen (周克任), one of the participants in the Wild Lily movement, said that the atmosphere at Liberty Square today was different from 1990. “Back then, as soon as we came to this place and reporters arrived, riot police began to prepare,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tax grace plan for firms and individuals unveiled
“I will promulgate administrative orders later in the day that would allow companies affected by the pandemic to postpone paying business income tax by a year or pay in installments over three years,” Su said. Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong speaks at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday. Companies whose revenues have fallen 10 percent from a year earlier would qualify to apply for tax deferrals, he said. The grace period would be extended to up to one year, Lee said, adding that people who are eligible could also opt to pay in installments. Government compensation of NT$1,000 per day for Republic of China citizens ordered into isolation or quarantine would be tax free, Lee said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ministry eyeing subsidy program for restaurants
Ministry eyeing subsidy program for restaurantsBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it is working on a subsidy program to help struggling restaurants reduce the costs charged by third-party food delivery providers during the COVID-19 outbreak. “We are drafting measures to subsidize commission fees as restaurants are suffering,” Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) told reporters after the meeting. “They [restaurant owners] have been advised to negotiate with [food delivery platforms] to cut the commission fees. The ministry can help with this.”Restaurants are hoping to at least halve the fees, Shen said. The ministry has set up a special budget of NT$160 million (US$5.29 million) to subsidize food delivery fees for about 11,000 small restaurants, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
March 16, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Abuse will not be tolerated: ministry
Virus Outbreak: Abuse will not be tolerated: ministryBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterPeople who are violent toward or threaten medical personnel could face a prison sentence under the Medical Care Act (醫療法), the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday. The Department of Medical Affairs said it strongly condemns any attempt to threaten, intimidate, insult, humiliate or obstruct the duties of medical personnel. A pharmacist, surnamed Wang, second right, listens to attorney Chiang Hsin-you, right, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, as her husband, left, and Taiwan Pharmacist Association president Huang Chin-shun, second left, look on. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Saturday said that such coercive behavior toward a pharmacist should be dealt with severely. “At this time … all medical personnel are working very hard, so the police department urges everyone to face conflicts rationally,” Hu said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Man faces fraud charges in China passport swindle
Man faces fraud charges in China passport swindleBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Tuesday last week detained a man who allegedly cheated Taiwanese out of their passports as part of a China-based human smuggling operation. Lin had prior criminal convictions and was working with a international human-trafficking ring, based in China’s Fujian Province, Su said. The parcels containing the passports were traced to a temporary storage unit in a warehouse at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. With other Taiwanese suspects, Lin reportedly obtained the passports by defrauding the passport holders, Su said. Lin would face fraud charges for contravening legal provisions governing passport use, prosecutors said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Waterfall bridge opens next month
Waterfall bridge opens next monthBy Lin Ping-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with Staff writerA suspended bridge near the Double Dragon Waterfalls (雙龍瀑布) in Nantou County is to open to tourists next month, the county government said. The 342m-long bridge, which hangs 110m above the ground, is currently the tallest and longest suspended bridge open for tourism in Taiwan, the county said, adding that it cost NT$55 million (US$1.82 million) to construct. A suspension bridge near the Double Dragon Waterfalls is pictured in Nantou County on Tuesday. People driving to the bridge must park their cars near the entrance and then take a shuttle inside, the county said. The bridge and the surrounding park area would be limited to 1,500 visitors on weekdays and weekends, the county government said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Rise in demand for new airport transport seen
Passengers who arrived yesterday on an Emirates flight from Dubai wait for their Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notices to be reviewed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesSome Uber drivers criticized the move, saying that the rental drivers working with the fleet could become weak links in containing the spread of COVID-19. TIAC said that the special service was created so that passengers who are asked to undergo home quarantine would not use public transport to return home. The new service is provided by airport-based taxi drivers and CB Leasing, which was the only vehicle rental firm willing to offer the service, it added. Those traveling to other cities and counties should use the vehicle rental service.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Businesses, venues can require masks, CECC says
Virus Outbreak: Businesses, venues can require masks, CECC saysBy Lin Hui-chin / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday said that businesses and large commercial venues that attract crowds can require customers and ticketholders to wear a mask, depending on the type of activity and the risk of transmission. A Taichung multiplex employee checks a man’s temperature at the door to a theater on Jan. 30. The guidelines also suggest posters be placed at entrances or ticket offices reminding people to wash their hands and of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette. Businesses and venues should arrange for employees take customer’s temperatures and assess their symptoms and persuade those with fevers or respiratory symptoms not to enter, and to refund their tickets, the guidelines state. They should set a plan for monitoring employees’ health and prepare a supply of gloves and masks to respond to a situation where an employee or customer feels ill, including establishing spaces that could be used as quarantine or resting areas, the guidelines state.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: TTL expanding sanitizer sales points
Virus Outbreak: TTL expanding sanitizer sales pointsBy Wang Meng-lun / Staff reporterTaiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL) yesterday said that the 300ml bottles of 75 percent alcohol disinfectant it is producing are to be available at six more retail chains. TTL now has six factories — in Chiayi, Hualien, Pingtung and Yilan counties and Taichung and Tainan — producing 75 percent alcohol solution for disinfecting purposes, chairman Ting Yen-che (丁彥哲) said. A 300ml bottle of 75 percent alcohol disinfectant produced by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp is pictured in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Meng-lun, Taipei TimesIt can produce up to 200,000 bottles per day and has produced nearly 6 million to date, he said. The products are available at the four major convenience store chains, National Health Insurance-partnered pharmacies, PX Marts and 135 TTL stores, Ting said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: New Taipei City hosts large-scale virus drill
Virus Outbreak: New Taipei City hosts large-scale virus drillBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe nation’s first large-scale emergency drill to test disease prevention and control measures for a possible community transmission of COVID-19 was yesterday held in Yangbei Community (央北社區) in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店). New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) served as the drill commander, while Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) — who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) — and CECC advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) attended the one-and-a-half-hour operation. A total of 450 people, including city government officials, healthcare workers, military personnel and community volunteers, participated in the drill. Military personnel spray disinfectant during a large-scale emergency drill to test disease prevention and control measures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District yesterday. Medical personnel from 17 New Taipei City hospital branches attended the drill, and simulated assessing patients’ conditions and taking people who are under home quarantine to designated hospitals, as well as clearing out hospital beds in the New Taipei City Hospital’s Sanchong Branch and taking patients to other hospitals.
Source:Taipei Times
March 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taichung coal rules invalid: EY
Taichung coal rules invalid: EYLAWS IN CONFLICT: The city revoked coal use permits for the Taichung Power Plant — an action overturned by the EPA last month — and now seeks a court opinionStaff writer, with CNASome provisions of legislation implemented by the Taichung City Government to reduce the use of coal are invalid, the Executive Yuan said on Friday, as the central government tries to settle the fate of the Taichung Power Plant. The Taichung Power Plant is pictured in an undated photograph. The Executive Yuan said that the Taichung City Government had been unresponsive to calls to amend its rules, and last month, it asked Taichung for the third time to bring its policy in line with the amended law. The central government’s request is believed to be aimed at resolving a dispute over the city government’s decision to revoke permits for two generators at the fossil fuel-powered Taichung Power Plant. 3 generators, effective in January, after claiming that the power plant had breached the Autonomous Act for Coal Regulation three times last year.
Source:Taipei Times
March 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: CECC to raise alert level for Europe
Virus Outbreak: CECC to raise alert level for EuropeCOMMUNITY SPREAD: The travel alert level for three US states is not the same as that of Europe, because the situation in the latter is more severe, the CECC head saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it would issue a level 3 “warning” travel notice for 27 European countries and Dubai on Tuesday, adding that travelers from those areas would be quarantined at home 14 days upon arriving in Taiwan. The center also raised the travel notice to a level 2 “alert” for three US states and issued a level 1 “watch” notice for all countries for which no other notice had been issued. The decision to issue a travel notice for all other countries is in response to the WHO declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, he added. Meanwhile, three new cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed in Taiwan yesterday, all of them imported, Chen said. The first new case — the nation’s 51st — is a Dutch man in his 30s who is the first officer of a commercial flight.
Source:Taipei Times
March 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Mask litterbugs face up to NT$6,000 in fines
Mask littering pollutes the environment and threatens public health, as masks with nonwoven fabrics cannot naturally decompose, while used masks might carry the virus, Greenpeace Taiwan campaigner Chang Kai-ting (張凱婷) said. A discarded surgical mask lies on the ground somewhere in Taipei yesterday. The EPA would ask local authorities to increase patrolling and cleaning in areas in which littered masks are more likely to be found and post more notices, she added. In a statement yesterday, the Taiwan Pharmacist Association denounced the request. The association would provide pharmacists who experience similar treatment with legal counseling resources, it said, calling on people to respect medical professionals during the pandemic.
Source:Taipei Times
March 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
New Taipei City man charged with coercing another
New Taipei City man charged with coercing anotherBy Wang Ting-chuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA New Taipei City man has been indicted on a coercion charge after allegedly harassing another man at his residence in the city’s Sanchong District (三重) for eight consecutive months. The Sanchong man, surnamed Lin (林), said that the suspect, surnamed Kuo (郭), banged on his door at about 4am three to four times per week from June last year until January, the indictment said. The entrance to the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office is pictured on Monday. Prosecutors quoted Lin as saying that he eventually could no long bear the disturbances and went to the police for help. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office found Kuo’s alleged actions to be “a disturbance of Lin’s rest, and a breach of his right to peace and quiet in his residence,” and proceeded with the indictment, prosecutors said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 14, 2020 15:56 UTC