Starting today, visitors and students from Hong Kong and Macau are banned from entering Taiwan, with a few exceptions, as part of the government’s temporary measures aimed at preventing the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
The outbreak in China’s Guangdong Province is still serious, with more than 1,000 confirmed cases, and “there is very frequent and high cross-border mobility between Guangdong and Hong Kong or Macau,” Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in Taipei.
“Although we have already announced that passengers from or those who have transited in Hong Kong or Macau must be put under home quarantine for 14 days, we want to enhance disease prevention at the border,” he said.
Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
Exceptions would be made for people with business contracts to fulfill, multinational corporation employees who are being transferred, and the spouses or children under the age of 18 of Taiwanese who have already obtained an Alien Resident Certificate, he said.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) said those exempted would be put under 14-day home quarantine upon arrival.
Hong Kongers and Macanese who have obtained entry and exit permits would be asked to postpone their trips, Chen Ming-chi said.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said the ministry has asked universities to propose plans to assist Chinese students in enrolling in courses, keeping their student status, taking leaves of absence, as well as organizing online courses.
It is reviewing the plans, which are to be expanded to include students from Hong Kong and Macau, he said.
There are a total of 10,844 students from Hong Kong and Macau studying in Taiwan, and 7,972 of them have not returned to Taiwan since the winter break.
As the CECC announced that starting on Friday travelers from Hong Kong and Macau would have to enter home quarantine for 14 days, students who entered Taiwan between Friday and yesterday would have to stay at home for 14 days before returning to school, Pan added.
Meanwhile, Straits Exchange Foundation spokesperson Tsai Meng-chun (蔡孟君) said the foundation would remain in close contact with Taiwanese in China and provide timely assistance if they need help, after Beijing authorities announced that the city was enacting 10 “enclosed management” measures to boost inspection and screening efforts on people returning to Beijing, and tighten controls on people entering and exiting certain facilities and communities.
Shanghai announced similar steps.
Asked if the MAC has measures in place after all cross-strait flights, except those between Taiwan and five Chinese airports, were suspended as of yesterday, and Beijing and Shanghai enacted semi-lockdowns, Chen Ming-chi said the council’s response would be decided according to the CECC’s instructions.
Whether all cross-strait flights should be suspended was still under discussion, he said.
In other developments, the CECC said a second 2019-nCoV patient could soon be discharged.
Two consecutive tests showed the man is not contagious and he could be released this week.
The businessman — who returned from Wuhan on Jan. 12 — was Taiwan’s 10th confirmed case, the health minister said.
Including the businessman, a total of 477 people have been identified as having come in contact with the first seven people in Taiwan confirmed to have the coronavirus, Chen Shih-chung said.
Of those, 475 have been cleared as being symptom-free, while the other two are among Taiwan’s 18 confirmed cases, Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘SALAMI-SLICING’: Beijing’s ‘gray zone’ tactics around the Pratas Islands have been slowly intensifying, with the PLA testing Taiwan’s responses and limits, an expert said The Ministry of National Defense yesterday condemned an intrusion by a Chinese drone into the airspace of the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) as a serious disruption of regional peace. The ministry said it detected the Chinese surveillance and reconnaissance drone entering the southwestern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone early yesterday, and it approached the Pratas Islands at 5:41am. The ministry said it immediately notified the garrison stationed in the area to enhance aerial surveillance and alert levels, and the drone was detected in the islands’ territorial airspace at 5:44am, maintaining an altitude outside the effective range of air-defense weaponry. Following
RSS