On April 26, I arrived at the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel to conduct an interview about the COVID-19 cluster infection involving China Airlines cargo pilots.
I was in the hotel’s main building for approximately two hours. When I became aware on April 29 that the entire hotel had been emptied out, I expected that I would receive a message from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) instructing me to report for testing. By 6pm, when no such message had arrived, I called the “1922” COVID-19 hotline.
At 8am the following day, I received a call from the CECC and was asked about my whereabouts on and after April 26. I reported that I was feeling unwell and arrangements were made by the Taipei Department of Health to go to a hospital for testing.
I arrived at the designated hospital on the afternoon of April 30 and was informed by medical staff that I had to stay in an isolation ward. I was suffering from diarrhea and had a cough, so I was categorized as “high risk.”
The following day, the test came back negative, and I was then taken for an X-ray before being placed back in the isolation ward. On May 2, I was tested again and the result again came back negative. It felt like I had dodged a bullet.
I watched how medical staff had to wear and then take off full protective equipment each time they entered the isolation ward. I observed how at the end of the day, the hazardous waste bin would fill up with a small mountain of single-use protective equipment.
After my experience in an isolation ward, I read about a China Airlines pilot who likened his stay in a quarantine facility to a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I laughed out loud.
Photographs taken by the pilots showed comfortable rooms, with televisions to while away the time. Hooked up to an intravenous drip round-the-clock, all I had to keep me company in the isolation ward was my mobile phone. The pilots did not know how lucky they were. Besides, the whole reason for the quarantine was that several of their colleagues had brought back an infection from abroad. Their — and my — freedoms were temporarily curtailed for good reason.
On the afternoon of Monday last week, I was finally given the go-ahead to be released from isolation, and was discharged from the hospital. I felt fortunate that the government was willing to pick up the tab for my sojourn at the hospital: The final bill came to NT$24,000. I only needed to pay a trifling NT$360 registration fee.
As for those who have accused the government of misappropriating public funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel obliged to say a few words in its defense.
To ensure that there are enough available isolation wards, the Department of Health has signed contracts with hospitals which require that a certain number of wards be set aside for exclusive use as isolation wards. Even if the wards lie empty, the department must still reimburse the hospitals.
All other isolation ward-related costs, including medical bills and food bills, are paid for by the government. From this, one should be able to appreciate that all of this costs the government an arm and a leg. Accusations of misappropriation of funds are wide of the mark.
Huang Jui-lin works in media.
Translated by Edward Jones
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath