As the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend nears, there is a sense of uneasiness that there might be a travel frenzy that would exacerbate Taiwan’s COVID-19 outbreak.
From President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) plea: “If you love your hometown and your family, please stay put,” to the popular Internet post: “If you go home to worship your ancestors this year, you’ll be the one worshiped next year,” public figures and other Internet users have expended a great deal of effort persuading people not to travel during the holiday.
The Tainan City Government is offering cash incentives to people who return their tickets, while others have floated ideas such as combining this holiday with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
It is encouraging that most are following suit: The Taiwan Railways Administration on Monday said that there has been a 70 to 80 percent return rate on tickets for this weekend, with only about 5 percent of the seats reserved. Many fewer tickets have been sold for the Taiwan High-Speed Rail as well.
Hopefully, all of the nation’s residents will rally and weather this crisis together. Of course, there are exceptions and those who need to go home should not be stigmatized.
With the extra time and money saved from staying put, those who can might want to support those who are seriously affected by the outbreak, and the people and organizations who are trying to help them. For many disadvantaged people nationwide, the outbreak is much worse than having their holiday plans dashed — and those who are doing their best to help them should receive more recognition.
For example, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation (伊甸社會福利基金會) yesterday said that its bakeries, run by people with disabilities, are struggling to sell their Dragon Boat Festival gift packs — sales are down more than 70 percent — as many businesses have canceled orders.
A similar challenge is facing the Down Syndrome Foundation, which continues to provide services despite a sharp drop in sales at its Abrazo bakery workshop.
Charities in general have been hit hard since the pandemic began — and who does not like to receive cookies?
With school canceled for the rest of the academic year, it is easy to forget that not every household has access to the Internet or possesses the electronic devices needed to keep their child current with their studies.
World Vision Taiwan said that 83 percent of the households it serves lack Internet access and 43 percent do not have an electronic device for personal use, while 22 percent do not have either. Civic groups and businesses are working together to help alleviate the need — and this is also a worthy venture to consider supporting.
Mental health is an issue that might be overlooked in times of crisis, but it is even more critical during the outbreak, as emotions and stress levels run high. Many are sure to lose access to therapy or feel uncomfortable going to a clinic, and psychologists are calling for the relaxation of requirements for online therapy.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union is offering one-time free online sessions until the end of the month.
This covers just a fraction of those who truly need help, and those who are staying indoors this weekend should try to see what they can do.
After more than a year of review, the National Security Bureau on Monday said it has completed a sweeping declassification of political archives from the Martial Law period, transferring the full collection to the National Archives Administration under the National Development Council. The move marks another significant step in Taiwan’s long journey toward transitional justice. The newly opened files span the architecture of authoritarian control: internal security and loyalty investigations, intelligence and counterintelligence operations, exit and entry controls, overseas surveillance of Taiwan independence activists, and case materials related to sedition and rebellion charges. For academics of Taiwan’s White Terror era —
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
On Feb. 7, the New York Times ran a column by Nicholas Kristof (“What if the valedictorians were America’s cool kids?”) that blindly and lavishly praised education in Taiwan and in Asia more broadly. We are used to this kind of Orientalist admiration for what is, at the end of the day, paradoxically very Anglo-centered. They could have praised Europeans for valuing education, too, but one rarely sees an American praising Europe, right? It immediately made me think of something I have observed. If Taiwanese education looks so wonderful through the eyes of the archetypal expat, gazing from an ivory tower, how
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
RSS