Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday pledged at an annual meeting of the cities’ leaders to provide mutual medical services and further collaboration on COVID-19 prevention, denying that their prevention strategies are inconsistent, despite media reports.
Disease prevention should be predicated on the “best preparations for worst-case scenarios,” and the New Taipei City Government has followed the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act (全民防衛動員準備法) in taking precautions allowing it to act decisively if a city lockdown is ordered by the central government, Hou, a former police officer, said on Wednesday.
Ko, a physician and the chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, said that the Taipei City Government has also taken precautionary measures, but that such measures should not get “too far” ahead of the present coronavirus situation.
Photo: CNA
Their remarks triggered speculation that the two cities might be diverging on disease-prevention policy.
At yesterday’s meeting, the two mayors constantly applauded each other, vowing to work together to stop the virus’ spread.
The cities are considering a trial of mask dispenser machines and would not let each other’s borders stop them from providing medical treatment, Ko said, adding that the two plan to set up shared locations for isolating COVID-19 patients.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
“The two cities are a body of life and there is no problem with inconsistency,” Hou said, adding that he is working closely with Ko on prevention strategies.
A hotline has been set up so that the mayors can handle any emergency, Hou said.
Taipei City Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that each city notifies the other about any coronavirus-related information so that officials stay informed.
Asked about his party’s suggestion that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) take over from Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) as head of the Central Epidemic Command Center, Ko said the move was not necessary.
Su and Chen should communicate and arrive at a consensus regarding policies, Ko added.
Local media and commentators often compare Chen and Ko, both medical professionals.
While Chen is gaining popularity for his professionalism and pragmatism as the center’s head, Ko has drawn criticism for frequent slips of the tongue. The two have butted heads over the best way to evacuate Taiwanese citizens after the lockdown in Wuhan, China, is lifted.
Ko said that the government should focus on the work at hand and not waste time on a meaningless war of words.
Hou said that New Taipei City would follow the central government’s guidance on disease prevention, adding that the two city leaders are shoulder-to-shoulder on that issue.
Separately, Huang said that the Taipei City Government is considering a special scheme that would hire volunteers to help with home quarantines.
“Local borough wardens and district offices are swamped,” Huang said, adding that she would discuss the project with the Taipei Civil Affairs Bureau while waiting for guidance from the central government.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS