Joint efforts are under way to produce masks that are transparent around the mouth to help people who read lips to communicate, as well as for those working in the service industry, a mask producer said yesterday.
The Industrial Development Bureau and the Taiwan Textile Research Institute have designed the new masks after being approached by the nonprofit Dandelion Hearing Association, which works with speech and hearing-impaired people, institute research director Huang Po-hsiung (黃博雄) said.
The only transparent protective face coverings on the market are the face shields worn by people working in the food and beverage industry, he said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Textile Research Institute research director Huang Po-hsiung
While shields are useful in preventing the user from spraying droplets onto food, they cannot prevent the spread of viruses, he said.
Association director Hsieh Li-fang (謝莉芳) said that she has been importing transparent masks from Italy at US$7 each.
However, those masks have been found to be largely ineffective in preventing the spread of diseases, Hsieh said.
She approached bureau Deputy Director Wang Li-chu (王麗珠) to inquire about purchasing such masks locally, Hsieh said.
Wang then discussed the issue with Huang and the two resolved to develop a solution, Huang said.
“The crux of the issue in developing [a transparent] mask was ensuring that the seam where the plastic film meets the non-woven fabric blocks viruses,” she said.
The team also had to use a new machine to produce the masks, whose design cost NT$10 million (US$338,501), she said.
The government would subsidize part of the funding to design and produce the masks, but manufacturers had been willing to start working on the products even before subsidies were proposed, which was touching to see, Huang said.
Taiwan Comfort Champ Manufacturing Co (台灣康匠) general manager Chen Yung-chih (陳勇志) said that his factory can manufacture 100 traditional non-woven masks per minute, but added that transparent masks would be produced at a much slower rate, as part of them must be added by hand.
Transparent masks were designed with one-third the differential pressure of conventional medical masks to allow the wearer to breathe comfortably, and they use non-reflective transparent film to facilitate communication, he said.
There are five handmade versions of the mask, and manufacturers hope they will be made for as little NT$8 each once mass production begins, Chen said, adding that the masks are expected to hit the market by the end of this year.
The masks might also be adopted by the service industry to allow for more personal interactions with customers, he said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS