A video circulating online that purportedly shows Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) flaunting COVID-19 prevention rules is part of a Chinese disinformation campaign to demoralize the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.
The video clip, in which Chen, who heads the center, is shown singing indoors without wearing a mask, was filmed last year, the minister said, but began circulating online on Wednesday, suggesting that the incident occurred earlier this year in contravention of rules mandated by a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert.
Chen on Thursday denied attending any event without wearing a mask while restrictions were in place.
Photo: CNA
The clip alleges that Chen had contravened CECC regulations at the height of an outbreak that started in May, but the video was shot on June 15 last year, shortly after restrictions had been rolled back on June 7 last year following 56 days with no new COVID-19 infections, Chen said.
Su yesterday said the clip was intended to demoralize and malign the CECC and sow doubt against the government.
A national security source said an account named “Silly Things in Taiwan” on China’s Weibo first shared the video at 5:48pm on Wednesday before it was picked up by a YouTube channel and later reported on by local news at 7:45pm.
The Weibo account also had accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, where it posts on controversial issues in the US and Taiwan, the source said.
The Chinese Communist Party is believed to be behind the channel, the source added.
The video is intended to reduce public trust in the government’s epidemic prevention policies, the source said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu’s (蔡易餘) office director, Wang Hsuan-mao (王宣貿), said that another Weibo account, known as the official promoter of Internet culture for the Guangdong Provincial Government, had also shared the video at about 6pm on Wednesday.
There is legitimate cause to suspect that Beijing is spreading disinformation on the Internet to undermine the public’s trust in the government, and attempting to cause strife and discord in the nation, Wang said.
Additional reporting by CNA
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft