The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said it had questioned two women for allegedly circulating fake news about the pandemic, while the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said that more than 70 percent of the cases of misinformation about COVID-19 originated in China.
After receiving complaints from the public, the two suspects were identified and questioned, CIB Seventh Investigation Corps officer Hsu Chao-pin (徐釗斌) said, adding that their case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
Both are Taipei residents, one surnamed Lin (林), 30, and the other surnamed Huang (黃), 36, Hsu said.
The duo distributed messages on the Line app alleging that three recently confirmed COVID-19 cases were from the same household living on Wujia Road in Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District (鳳山), and that the parent of a student at Taipei American School was infected with the virus after taking a trip to Japan.
Both were found to be false, investigators said.
“We double-checked the information with the Central Epidemic Command Center and the Kaohsiung Department of Health, and found that the messages were false,” Hsu said. “The duo had deliberately spread misinformation, causing public fear and anxiety.”
Judicial officials are to charge the two with breaching Article 14 of the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Restoration (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), which stipulates: “Individuals who spread rumors or disinformation about COVID-19 that risk harming the public interest can face a maximum prison term of three years and a possible fine of NT$3 million [US$98,341]”
MJIB Director-General Leu Wen-jong (呂文忠) said that since the middle of last month, his agency had investigated 271 suspected cases of misinformation about the virus.
“Of the 271, 196 cases were found to have originated in China, accounting for more than 70 percent,” he told a news briefing on Wednesday, adding that 35 people in 25 of these cases have been charged.
There was a spike in the last two weeks of last month, as Chinese netizens stepped up their misinformation campaign, which has continued into this month, MJIB Information Security Department head Chang Yu-jen (張尤仁) said.
“Our assessment indicated that Chinese netizens had carried out three waves of coordinated attacks to spread misinformation and fake news in Taiwan. Some were ‘revenge’ for the [Taiwanese] government banning exports of masks to China and other countries. In other instances, it was due to disputes on online forums with Taiwanese netizens blaming China for letting the Wuhan virus get out of hand,” Chang said.
He cited several particularly vicious rumors, such as former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) or vice president-elect William Lai (賴清德) dying from coronavirus, or that “there were dead bodies all over Taiwan waiting for cremation.”
All the messages had IP addresses in China, he said.
There were also 59 cases of Taiwanese circulating false reports about a shortage of goods in shops and supermarkets, and 36 cases alleging a shortage of medical items and supplies to combat the virus, he said.
The Yilan County Government yesterday said it had asked police to investigate a rumor circulating online that a local bank employee was confirmed to have the virus, which it has found to be false.
Ninth graders were asked to define “trolling” on this year’s standardized exam, reflecting efforts to make the test better reflect real-life situations. Adjustments to this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students were revealed on Sunday, after the last cohort of students completed the test over the weekend. The Ministry of Education solicited feedback about the test from teachers, who approved of the new question in the English portion. Not only was question No. 20 “very much in line with real-life situations,” but it also used a new style in which students were asked to ascertain the correct dictionary definition based
Taiwan is on alert for monkeypox, a rare viral disease that has caused 87 infections in 11 countries over the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday. The WHO on Friday convened an emergency session to discuss a sudden outbreak of monkeypox in North America and Europe. Since the beginning of this month, 87 confirmed cases and 28 possible cases have been identified in 11 countries. The countries with the highest case counts are England with 29 cases, and Portugal and Spain with 23 each. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease occurring primarily in the tropical rainforest areas
People should look out for eight signs of acute encephalitis in children and seek emergency medical treatment if they occur, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The symptoms are a body temperature of at least 41°C, impaired consciousness, excessive sleepiness, a persistent headache, vomiting, involuntary muscle twitching (myoclonic jerks), convulsions and an unsteady gait, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. The symptoms were spelled out in the “Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute COVID-19 Encephalitis in Children,” drawn up by members of the Taiwan Pediatric Association
ADAPTING: The CECC said the policy change would happen this week at the earliest, while PCR testing stations would be used to diagnose people and prescribe drugs The general public would be able to use a positive rapid test result that has been confirmed by a doctor for COVID-19 diagnosis starting later this week at the soonest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 79,441 new local infections and 53 deaths. The center on Saturday announced that it was expanding the rapid test diagnosis policy to people living in indigenous townships and outlying islands, starting today. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday said the policy might be further expanded to include “all people” this week, at the soonest. He