“To save others, you must save yourself first,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday as he defended the government’s decision to ban exports of N95 respirators and other masks for one month.
To ensure local supply of masks amid fears that the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) could spread domestically, the Customs Administration on Friday banned exports of all masks made of woven materials until Feb. 23.
The ban came in the wake of the worsening 2019n-CoV outbreak, as China first tried to conceal the disease, and has performed poorly in trying to contain it, Su said.
Photo: Chiu Shu-yu, Taipei Times
The government’s decision has drawn criticism, with media personality Joyce Huang (黃智賢) calling Su “inhumane” on Facebook for formulating the ban.
However, the premier yesterday again condemned China’s repeated sidelining of Taiwan at the WHO, and barring its participation unless it acknowledges Beijing’s “one China” principle, making it unable to share its knowledge, information and experience with the world.
As disease prevention knows no boundaries, Beijing’s boycott is wrong, regrettable and exposes China’s willfulness and irrationality, he added.
Meanwhile, the Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday warned patrons and staff of Jin Bali Grand Ballroom (金芭黎舞廳) in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District (苓雅) that they might have been exposed to the virus, as a Taiwanese businessman in his 50s, who was one of two people on Friday confirmed to have 2019n-CoV, was at the club on Wednesday from 4pm to 6pm.
As the man had not worn a mask, the center said it wanted to alert people who might have come into close contact with him to monitor their health for 14 days.
If they develop a fever or start coughing or hyperventilating, they should immediately call the tollfree 1922 hotline and list the places they have visited, it said.
Kaohsiung Department of Health specialist Pan Chao-ying (潘炤穎) said a female employee of the ballroom developed symptoms of a respiratory infection yesterday morning and sought treatment, adding that the ballroom closed yesterday for at least two days and has begun disinfecting its premises.
The businessman would be fined NT$300,000 for violating the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) by not reporting that he had symptoms of an upper respiratory infection when he arrived at Kaohsiung International Airport on Tuesday, Pan said.
The health of people that the man has been in contact with since his return would be monitored until Feb. 5, Pan added.
The other case confirmed on Friday is a Chinese woman who is part of an 18-person tour group from Wuhan.
The rest of the group were scheduled to leave Taiwan yesterday, Tourism Bureau division head Liu Shih-min (劉士銘) said.
As of 3pm yesterday, 193 cases of people displaying pneumonia-like symptoms have been reported, of which three had been confirmed to have 2019-nCoV, while the virus has been ruled out in 64 cases and 126 people remain under quarantine, the center said.
Additional reporting by CNA
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese