Taiwan, as a responsible member of the international community, is to offer humanitarian assistance to nations hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by sending them masks and medicine, as well as sharing with them an electronic system that the government has been using to track down people that need to be quarantined, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
With the nation’s daily production having reached 13 million masks and soon to reach 15 million, the government is to donate 10 million masks to medical personnel in nations most severely affected by the coronavirus, Tsai said at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The nation would donate more masks when production capacity permits, she added.
Photo: CNA
With a number of clinical reports concluding that quinine can help treat patients with mild symptoms, the government has asked pharmaceutical companies to increase production of the medication so that it can contribute to the supplies of nations in need, Tsai said.
The nation is also to provide technological support, by sharing with other nations a system that uses “big data” to accurately locate people that have come into close contact with those that have tested positive for COVID-19, effectively curbing the spread of the coronavirus, she said.
When the outbreak first occurred, Taiwan had formed a “national team” to combat COVID-19, which is now ready to join the international community in an all-out effort to fight the pandemic, she added.
Photo courtesy of American Institute in Taiwan
Taiwan will step up its cooperation with other nations and not sit idly by while the global fight against the coronavirus continues, Tsai said, adding that the nation is already helping its diplomatic allies, enabling their citizens to acquire medical supplies locally.
“Taiwan can help, and Taiwan is helping,” Tsai said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that the nation is to make a one-time donation of 2 million masks to the US on top of a weekly donation of 100,000 previously announced.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The nation is to donate 7 million masks to the most-affected nations in the EU, as well as to the UK and Switzerland, it said.
It is also to donate 1 million masks to its diplomatic allies, it added.
Academia Sinica and the nation’s leading vaccine companies have entered into talks with the US, the EU, Canada and the Czech Republic on collaborating to develop testing kits and vaccines, the ministry said.
The ministry has collaborated with private firms to donate ventilators, ventilator filters, masks and disinfectant to hospitals in the Czech Republic, it said, while Catholic groups have donated goggles, masks, endotracheal tubes and mucus extractors to Italy.
The British Office Taipei, the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office, the French Office in Taipei and the Polish Office in Taipei thanked the nation for its help on social media.
“#Taiwanhelps is the new hashtag,” European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Filip Grzegorzewski yesterday wrote on Twitter, also thanking Taiwan.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) shared photographs of AIT Director Brent Christensen meeting Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) with the comment: “Taiwan is a real friend.”
In related news, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague and the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei issued a joint statement listing eight areas of bilateral cooperation on COVID-19.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS