■Transportation
Drivers to wear masks
In order to prevent the further spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday that all bus and taxi drivers were required to wear masks on duty. The MOTC yesterday dispatched 3,000 masks to transport service companies for emergencies. Companies that fail to carry out the measure, officials said, would be ordered to suspend business, MOTC officials said. "The new measure is taken to ensure the safety of not only passengers but also the drivers," said James Chen (陳晉源), director-general of the ministry's department of railways and highways. When the measure would be lifted remained uncertain, Chen said. Owners of transportation service companies said yesterday passengers would be also encouraged to wear masks when taking vehicles.
■ Transportation
CKS numbers hit new low
The number of passengers passing through the CKS International Airport dropped to a new low on Wednesday of 9,440, due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). That was 13 fewer people than the day before. An airport official said yesterday there were only 4,228 arrivals and 5,212 outgoing passengers on Wednesday. The airport usually serves 50,000 passengers per day. The numbers have been dropping ever since the government suspended tourist visas for people from Hong Kong and Macau and put all incoming passengers from SARS-affected areas in quarantine.
■ Travel
Philippine visitors on list
Travelers from the Philippines will be subject to the entry restrictions applied to visitors from regions affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) starting today, Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. The ministry made the announcement one day after the World Health Organization's listed Manila as a SARS-affected area. Visitors from the Philippines will be prohibited from traveling to Taiwan except for limited exceptions, which will be determined on a case-to-case basis. People traveling from Manila on official business, including those who hold diplomatic or courtesy visas, or those who have been granted permission to enter the country by the ministry, are not required to hold a boarding permit. Whether such travelers will face quarantine or other measures will depend on their temperature upon arrival.
■ Education
More students in quarantine
Possible exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has forced 29,528 students to be confined to their homes as 53 schools around the nation have been completely or partial closed for a maximum of two weeks, according to the Ministry of Education. Ministry statistics released yesterday showed that there were 11 probable, 35 suspected and 21 other SARS-related cases involving students or teachers. The ministry has ruled that the entire class and its teacher must stay home for observation if one student or teacher is found to have symptoms of SARS. When two cases are found in one school, the school must be completely closed for two weeks. Some legislators have urged the ministry to consider giving students in Taipei a two-week quarantine "vacation."
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