Two men are facing misinformation charges over video and rumors about COVID-19, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday, while the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said that two Changhua County residents could face charges over rumors about Taiwan’s first COVID-19 fatality.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) asked the CIB to investigate after a video surfaced earlier this month that purportedly showed the Vietnamese government providing free masks to people waiting in lines and claiming that Taiwan’s government had sent 500,000 masks to Hong Kong.
“This video shows the Vietnamese government working to contain the coronavirus outbreak by handing out free masks to people in Ho Chi Minh City, but we do not know what the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] government has done. It is doing nothing,” the video says. “The DPP government sent 500,000 masks to Hong Kong, giving five masks to each Hong Kong resident, but people in Taiwan cannot find any masks to buy.”
The CIB checked with the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which said that Hanoi had not distributed free masks, and the video showed an activity by a Vietnamese charity, Fourth Investigation Corps officer Wang Chih-cheng (王志成) said.
“Taiwan’s government did not send masks to Hong Kong ... so we determined the video was fake news that had created distrust in our government, and could have panicked the public,” Wang said.
A 62-year-old Chiayi County resident surnamed Liu (劉) allegedly circulated the video on the messaging app Line, as well as sending it to friends and others through social media sites, CIB investigators said.
Helped by information provided by Liu, the CIB discovered that the video Liu had downloaded originated with a 44-year-old Taipei resident surnamed Wu (吳), Wang said.
Liu and Wang face charges of contravening Article 63 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), which states: “Persons who disseminate rumors or incorrect information concerning epidemic conditions of communicable diseases, resulting in damages to the public or others, shall be fined up to NT$ 3 million” (US$99,160), the CIB said.
Between Jan. 23 and Wednesday, police had investigated 83 cases of rumors and misinformation about the “Wuhan virus,” while prosecutors are investigating 48 cases, with 70 people facing indictments, Wang said.
Meanwhile, the MJIB yesterday questioned two Changhua residents, surnamed Yang (楊) and Chuang (莊), who allegedly circulated Line messages claiming that the elder sister and nephew of the nation’s first fatality, the driver of an unlicensed taxi, had also caught the virus and listing places they claimed his family members lived, and restaurants, grocery stores, clinics and a massage parlor they had visited.
Yang and Chuang would also face charges for contravening Article 63, because the messages were not true and residents of the areas cited had been alarmed, while local businesses had been hurt, MJIB officials said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS