HEALTH
Imported case confirmed
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new imported case of COVID-19, bringing the nation’s total to 1,073 cases. The case is a Malaysian man in his 40s who arrived in Taiwan for work on Thursday, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, told a news briefing. Upon his arrival in Taiwan, the man was found to have a fever of 38.5°C and was immediately sent to a hospital, where he underwent a COVID-19 test. The test came back positive on Sunday, Chuang said. Among the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation, 957 have been classified as imported. Of the total, 1,033 have recovered, 11 have died and 29 are in hospital, CECC data showed yesterday.
GOVERNMENT
Cabinet hires ex-spokesman
The Executive Yuan yesterday said that its former spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) has been hired as a paid consultant by the Cabinet. Ting resigned as spokesman in November last year after falsely claiming that an award-winning beef noodle soup restaurant served meat containing ractopamine residues. Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) yesterday said Ting has expertise in policy research and advocacy, and abundant experience working with local and central governments, so he should be competent in offering advice to Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on policy research and communications. Regarding criticism that hiring Ting goes against the civil service promotion system, Lo said the Executive Yuan has always recruited consultants as “confidential officers” or “senior civil servants,” adding that the former come and go with the premier, so they do not block civil servants’ promotions.
HEALTHCARE
Lai announces new program
The government is to invest NT$2.8 billion (US$98.80 million) in a medical care promotion program from this year to 2024 to provide better healthcare services for children, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai elaborated on the government’s efforts to improve the quality of healthcare for children in a pre-recorded speech delivered during an award ceremony to honor people who have contributed to healthcare for children. The program aims to reduce child mortality rates, and prevent and reduce disease and disability in children, Lai said. The program would include a stratified appointment system, in which patients with minor symptoms would be directed to small clinics, while those with serious illnesses would be directed to major hospitals, he said. It would also include a two-way referral system between hospitals and community health centers to use medical resources more efficiently, he added.
TOURISM
Carriers apply for ‘bubble’
Two more airlines have expressed an interest in entering the Taiwan-Palau travel market, despite weak demand for flights under a “travel bubble” established between the two countries, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said on Saturday. Palau Express has applied with the CAA to operate an agency to handle its business in Taiwan, the regulator said. However, the airline would still need permission from Palauan authorities to operate under the “travel bubble,” it said, adding that it has not heard from its Palauan counterpart of any such arrangement. Taipei-based StarLux Airlines has applied for rights to operate on the route, the CAA said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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