■Diplomacy
MOFA to brief diplomats
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is slated to brief Taipei-based diplomats on the latest development in the outbreak and containment of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in Taiwan today, the ministry said yesterday. Some 40 to 50 ambassadors and representatives in Taipei are scheduled to attend the closed-door briefing at the ministry this afternoon, the ministry said. Some diplomats have expressed their concerns over the SARS outbreak in Taiwan as well as the government's newly adopted measures to contain the flu-like disease, the ministry said. Officials from the Department of Health, Mainland Affairs Council as well as the ministry's Bureau of Counsular Affairs will attend the briefing, a foreign ministry official said. The ministry decided to hold the briefing amid requests from Taipei-based diplomats, the official added.
■ Borders
Lawmaker views threat
A DPP lawmaker yesterday urged increased efforts in the search for illegal Chinese immigrants to cut the risk of spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. "The military strategy of offshore engagement should be applied to preventing and controlling the epidemic," Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) said. Tsai advised the government to reward coast-guard personnel for carrying out increased checks "for their contribution in keeping illegal immigrants from Taiwan preventing them worsening the SARS situation in the country."
■ Borders
CGA stepping up watch
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has heightened its vigilance against the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) for fear that cases of the disease will be brought into the country by illegal immigrants from China. The CGA has instructed all branches to heighten surveillance at detention centers for illegal Chinese immigrants, as well as at fishing ports and customs offices. Labeling the anti-SARS efforts as a combative campaign, CGA officials said that from yesterday, all ocean-going vessels will be acquired to fill in health forms upon anchoring at ports and to indicate whether there are any Chinese workers aboard. The coast guard is also stepping up patrols against the Chinese fishing boats that often trespass into ROC territorial waters to poach. It will also tighten surveillance in waters near Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu to curb the importation of illegal goods smuggled from China aboard fishing boats, particularly livestock products, which might serve as viral intermediaries, officials said.
■ Help lines
MAC releases phone list
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday released a list of emergency numbers for foreign nationals and Chinese nationals to call if they have any SARS-related inquiries or issues. Foreign nationals can call (02) 2343-2881, 2343-2891 or 0933-714-386. Chinese and Taiwanese nationals can call (02) 2397-5589 with extensions 506, 520, 522, 504, 526 and 508. Alternatively, they can call 0936-252-321. Hong Kong residents can call (02) 2397-5589 with extensions 627, 631, 630, 612, 600, 601 and 602. Alternatively, Hong Kong residents can call 0937-944-868.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods