TSU lawmakers yesterday urged the government to draw up a special budget of NT$100 billion to ease the impact of the spreading epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Taiwan.
"A special fund should be formulated to prevent the SARS epidemic in Taiwan from evolving into a disaster," said Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君), TSU legislative caucus whip.
Chien Lin contended that the source of the fund can emulate the precedent of a special budget for the Keelung River levee and dredging construction project and the fund for the country's reconstruction plan after the 921 earthquake.
Warning that the multiple infections at Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital on Tuesday could lead to a climax of the SARS infection in the country, Chien Lin and her fellow TSU lawmakers urged the government to conduct intensive measures against the worsening epidemic situation.
Aside from implementing a 14-day quarantine measure against travelers from infected areas, the government should suspend granting visas to people from such areas, the TSU lawmakers proposed.
Insisting that the country should voice its objection to the WHO for shunning the the country due to political calculations, the TSU caucus asserted that Taiwan should also continue striving for WHO membership.
The TSU caucus further argued that the rising number of SARS cases in China, Hong Kong and Macau have seriously affected Taiwan's tourism, catering, trade, show business and transportation industries.
"The Executive Yuan should offer subsidiary measures to the local tourism industry," Chien added, "which has been most seriously impacted by the international outbreak of SARS."
"Members of the legislature, regardless of belonging to ruling or opposition parties, should endorse the special fund proposal [to fight] against the spreading disease. A similar fund of about NT$50 billion has also been proposed in Hong Kong for tackling the epidemic," TSU Legislator Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) said. Liao demanded an investigation into whether Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞), director of Taipei's Bureau of Health, should face charges of dereliction of duty.
"The outbreak indicates the inability of the Health Bureau director regarding her responsibility to implement comprehensive quarantine measures," Liao argued.
According to Liao, Chiou was authorized by the Department of Health to lead the city's prevention measures against the epidemic, after her warning on March 24 that a local outbreak of SARS could occur by the end of April if the city government was not given the power to enforce prevention measures
In related news, a staff member at the Legislative Yuan said that the legislature has enhanced prevention measures against SARS.
"The Legislative Yuan intensified sterilization measures to cut the risk of SARS after local cases of SARS were reported," said Yu Teng-fang (
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard