Virus Outbreak: HK starts quarantine protocols for arrivals from mainland China
AFP, HONG KONGHong Kong yesterday began enforcing a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from mainland China, a dramatic escalation of its bid to stop 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from spreading. Hong Kong lawmakers unveiled how the quarantine would work on Friday evening, just six hours before the policy took effect. Anyone who has been to mainland China in the 14 days prior to arriving in Hong Kong from another destination also faces quarantine. The death toll from the outbreak soared to 722 in China yesterday, including the first foreign victim. Outside mainland China, there have been more than 340 infections reported.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: ‘Aquarius’ liner docks, tests show no coronavirus
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe SuperStar Aquarius cruise ship carrying more than 1,700 Taiwanese passengers docked at the Port of Keelung at 11:30am yesterday and 128 passengers were tested for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, including one person with a travel history to Wuhan, China. All of the results were negative for 2019-nCoV, the center said last night, so everyone onboard would be allowed to disembark and asked to monitor their health for 14 days. If a test had been positive for the virus, all of the passengers and crew would have been quarantined on the ship, Chen said. After boarding the SuperStar Aquarius with disease prevention officers at noon, Chen said that they took samples from 128 people for testing. The results were available at 9pm.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
New Zealand seal victory over India
Reuters, WELLINGTONAn ill Tim Southee and a superb debut from Kyle Jamieson yesterday helped New Zealand to a tense 22-run victory over India in their second one-day international (ODI) at Eden Park in Auckland, clinching the three-match series with a game to spare. New Zealand had scored 273-8 in their innings, with Ross Taylor following up his century in the first match in Hamilton with 73 not out. Taylor combined with debutant bowler Jamieson (25 not out) in an unbroken 76-run ninth wicket partnership to give their team a respectable target. The left-hander fell for 100 in the penultimate over before tea — his third Test hundred and second successive — as Pakistan reached 206-3 after two commanding sessions of batting. Masood — who was finally bowled out by Islam — reached his hundred by hooking pacer Rubel Hossain for his 12th boundary.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Scientists ask US event to separate Taiwan, China
By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Oceanographic Society yesterday asked the US-based Ocean Sciences Meeting to distinguish Taiwan from China, after the event organizer advised speakers from China and Taiwan to “discuss alternative arrangements” amid an outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus. “We have contacted conveners and speakers who are from designated countries, currently China and Taiwan, to discuss alternative arrangements,” it said. Upon seeing the message, the society wrote to the organizer, suggesting that it consider excluding Taiwan from its announcement, society chairman Jan Sen (詹森) wrote on Facebook yesterday. As of Friday, Taiwan had only confirmed 16 coronavirus cases, which were all linked to travelers returning from overseas, and the disease is well under control in Taiwan, he wrote. More than 20 academics from National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Ocean University and National Sun Yat-sen University are expected to attend the meeting, Jan told the Taipei Times.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Medical professionals call for evacuation oversight
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA group of medical professionals yesterday urged the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) to not allow further evacuation flights from China unless three criteria are met to better ensure disease prevention. There has been significant criticism over the passenger list and disease prevention measures for the first flight, on Monday, that evacuated Taiwanese from Wuhan, the epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. Surgeon Wu Hsin-tai (吳欣岱) on Friday launched a petition urging the government to firmly stick to its disease prevention principles and safeguard Taiwan from the virus. The petition was signed by 111,761 medical professionals in one day, one-third of the nation’s registered medical professionals, she said. MAC Deputy Minister Lee Li-jane (李麗珍) said that the medical professionals’ demands are in line with the council’s principles and that it would make sure they are implemented.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Beijing’s diversion tactics are a threat to all
Judged by the idea that a nation should protect itself before thinking about saving others, the export ban is rational. China’s leadership has diverted the public anger caused by its intentional cover-up and its passive attitude at the epidemic’s onset. Despite the innocence of Taiwan’s government and public, the epidemic has become so severe that Taiwan must regulate access to masks. The government must stay alert around the clock and be cautious of Beijing’s “wag the dog” strategy, which might trigger unintended consequences. Taiwanese entertainers and politicians must not become willing pawns in China’s strategy just to make a “tiny profit” or out of excessive kindheartedness.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: MAC to suspend the ‘big three links’
By Lee I-chia and Chien Hui-ju / Staff reportersThe Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced that the “big three links” are to be suspended, effective tomorrow, due to the threat of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The decision came a day after the council announced that the “small three links” are to be suspended, also starting tomorrow. The “small three links” are the ferry services connecting Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China’s Fujian Province, while the “big three links” refers to direct cross-strait maritime services between Taiwan proper and Chinese cities. Ocean transportation for the “big three links” includes the Natchan Rera (麗娜輪) the Hai Xia Hao (海峽號) and the Cosco Star (中遠之星), the council said. Suspending links was a preventive measure and their resumption would depend on how the situation evolves, MAC Deputy Minister Lee Li-jane (李麗珍) said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
European shares fall from record highs on virus fears
ReutersEuropean shares slipped from all-time highs on Friday, as investor sentiment was dulled by underwhelming corporate earnings reports and the rising death toll from the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. British fashion brand Burberry Group PLC fell 1.8 percent after flagging a slide in demand from China and Hong Kong due to the outbreak. China-exposed sectors, such as basic materials, luxury and auto stocks, which have seesawed over the past two weeks on virus fears, were the biggest decliners on the day. Despite Friday’s declines, the STOXX 600 posted its best week since December 2016 with a 3.3 percent increase. Cosmetics maker L’Oreal SA and fertilizer maker Yara International ASA rose 6.7 percent and 4.9 percent respectively after posting better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Exchanges with France invaluable
Exchanges with France are invaluable for Taiwan at a time when it is seeking international support, not only because of its importance within the EU, but also because the French language is so widely spoken. More than half of the world’s French speakers are in Africa, where China has made headway politically and militarily. In the Pacific, where China has poached allies from Taiwan, there are French speakers in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna. If Taiwan were to increase cultural exchanges with these territories as well, it could help turn the tide of influence in its favor. France might also be seeking to improve its relationship with Taiwan for strategic purposes, given its interest in the Asia-Pacific region and China’s encroachment in the South Pacific and the South China Sea.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Lantern events start across Taiwan
By Su Chin-feng / Staff reporter, with CNASeveral events marking the Lantern Festival began yesterday, with the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung deploying nearly 40 medical personnel to help prevent the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The Taichung festival runs through Feb. 23. The Taipei Lantern Festival opened in the Ximending (西門町) area, while lanterns are also on display at Nangang Station (南港車站), the festival’s east exhibition area. Unapproved use of uncrewed aerial vehicles is prohibited and drones would be intercepted, the Taipei City Government said. Folk stories say that epidemics commonly affected Taitung during the Japanese colonial period and the deity Handan would drive out devils, and bring wealth and fortune during the Lantern Festival.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Mexico changes plans for plane raffle
Among the many desperate attempts to get rid of the expensive plane, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had toyed with the idea of actually awarding the plane to the winner, along with a year’s paid maintenance and parking. “We did not want to award a prize that would be a problem,” Lopez Obrador said. The remaining money is to pay to keep the airplane in flight condition while Lopez Obrador tries to sell or rent it. Lopez Obrador flies tourist class on commercial flights and views the jet, bought for more than US$200 million by his predecessor, as wasteful. Previously, Lopez Obrador had suggested bartering the plane in exchange for US medical equipment or selling it in shares to a group of businessmen for executive incentive programs.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Fight against corruption not over
By Hsu Jen-hui 徐仁輝Transparency International has published its Corruption Perception Index for 2019, which gives Taiwan a score of 65, placing it 28th out of 180 countries and territories rated according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption. Clearly, Taiwan’s provisions for clean governance are increasingly being met with international approval. This demonstrates that these countries have stricter laws governing public sector corruption than Taiwan, and that their citizens have higher expectations for clean government than Taiwanese. In addition to rooting out corruption, another area that cannot be ignored is how to prevent public officials from carrying out their duties through fear of being bitten by anti-profiteering clauses. The authorities need to be more proactive and consistent about educating the public about corruption in all its forms.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: People who transit through China to be quarantined
Staff writer, with CNAStarting tomorrow, travelers who have transited through China, Hong Kong or Macau on their way to Taiwan would be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival, the Central Epidemic Command Center said. The first, which the government calls “home isolation,” is used for people who have come in contact with confirmed cases of the virus, it said. Those under home isolation would receive health checks from medical authorities twice each day and are to be electronically monitored via their cellphones, it added. The second type, which the government calls “home quarantine,” is applied to people who have recently traveled in or transited through China, Hong Kong or Macau, the center said. People who breach the terms of their home isolation or quarantine could face penalties, such as mandatory medical isolation, under the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), it added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
White House ousts inquiry witnesses
BloombergUS President Donald Trump on Friday removed two witnesses from his administration who testified against him in the US House of Representatives impeachment inquiry. Two days after Trump’s acquittal by the US Senate, Gordon Sondland announced he had been ousted as US ambassador to the EU just hours after the White House dismissed US Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman from the US National Security Council. Vindman was escorted from the White House in the afternoon, along with his twin brother, Yevgeny, a senior lawyer and ethics official on the council, Alexander Vindman’s lawyer David Pressman said. Pressman said that Alexander Vindman “was asked to leave for telling the truth.”“The truth has cost Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman his job, his career and his privacy,” Pressman said in a statement. Hours later, Sondland announced that he too was no longer a member of the Trump administration.
Source:Taipei Times
February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
MediaTek quarterly net profit soars 56%
By Natasha Li / Staff reporterHandset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday reported that fourth-quarter net profit increased 56.6 percent annually to NT$6.38 billion (US$211.78 million), driving net profit for the whole of last year up 11.7 percent to NT$23.2 billion. MediaTek forecast a 7 to 15 percent sequential decline in sales this quarter to between NT$55 billion and NT$60.2 billion. “We are currently witnessing strong demand for our 4G chips,” he said, adding that overall shipments this year would increase on an annual basis. While the average price of 5G chips is much higher than that of 4G chips, the demand for 4G chips remains strong, MediaTek chief financial officer David Ku (顧大為) said. “We have achieved a greater market share for 4G chips, with improved profitability,” Ku said, adding that 4G chips would increase revenue this year for MediaTek’s mobile computing segment, which contributes about 40 percent of the handset chip designer’s overall revenue.
Source:Taipei Times
February 07, 2020 15:56 UTC