The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is seeking to clarify a decision by Italian authorities to ban flights from Taiwan, as a novel coronavirus outbreak first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan spreads around the world.
After Italy on Friday confirmed two 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases, it suspended all flights from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau until April 28.
The ban affects Taiwan-based carriers China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways.
CAL operates three flights per week between Taoyuan and Rome, while EVA was set to start direct flights to Milan on Feb. 18.
CAL said late last night that Italian aviation authorities had approved its request to send an airplane to Rome today to fly Taiwanese passengers back home the following day.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement on Friday that Italy has not restricted flights from other nations that have reported more infection cases than Taiwan; therefore, its ban on Taiwan cannot be said to be related to the rate of infection in Taiwan.
The Italian government made a wrong decision based on wrong identification, she said.
The ministry is seeking to clarify the situation with the Italian government through its overseas offices and like-minded countries, she said, urging Rome to rectify its decision soon.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) yesterday said that it is unfair that Taiwan has met the same treatment as China, even though Taiwan has better healthcare and disease prevention standards, as well as control over the virus’ spread compared with other countries.
In related news, the Hanoi government last night lifted a ban on flights between Vietnam and Taiwan, reversing a decision it made yesterday afternoon, when it revoked permits for flights from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Cheng Wei-chi
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection
RSS