In retaliation for a Thai demand that Taiwanese wear surgical masks at all times when they visit the country, DPP Legislator Lo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄) yesterday called on the public not to go to Thailand.
"This egregious behavior manifestly humiliates our national dignity and image," Lo said, referring to the requirement announced by the kingdom's Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday that all travelers from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan would have to wear masks for the first 14 days of their visits to the country.
The Thai health ministry also urged Thais to avoid visiting what it said were the areas worst affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
"Given that more than 530,000 Taiwanese visited Thailand last year, I'll launch a campaign calling on the public not to go there any more," Lo told the legislature.
The Department of Health sent a letter on Wednesday to its Thai counterpart to protest the rule.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned the Thai representative to protest and discuss the matter in the hope that Bangkok could take Taiwan off the travel advisory list.
Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday that the Thai government may soon respond to Taiwan's request.
"I've learned from unofficial channels that they might soon shelve the demand that Taiwanese visitors wear masks because it's not only unreasonable but also difficult to implement," Lin said.
Lin said that if Thailand failed to respond to either of the requests, the government would adopt "necessary measures" to ensure the nation's dignity and independent spirit are protected.
PFP legislative leader Chiu Yi (
"Both legislators and the government should work together to push for Taiwan's accession to the WHO, braving the staunch suppression of China," Chiu said.
While both sides of the Taiwan Strait can cooperate in the areas of trade and economy, Chiu said, there's absolutely no room for both sides to reunite, just as the KMT and PFP can cooperate but never merge.
Because China has restricted the flow of information about SARS, PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien (高明見) called on the government to set up a hot line to provide information to China-based Taiwanese businesspeople and their families.
In response to a suggestion from DPP Legislator Julian Kuo (
"I don't think it makes much sense at all to do so, since the disease has spread to neighboring provinces," she said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching