A political talk show on the SET News channel has sparked public outrage after it referred to a COVID-19 variant that is spreading in the nation as the “Wanhua virus” (萬華病毒).
Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) has been severely affected by an outbreak since a cluster infection was detected in the area last month.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) said it has received 26 complaints about broadcast media coverage of the outbreak since the Central Epidemic Command Center raised the COVID-19 warning in Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 on May 15.
Photo courtesy of Freddy Lim’s legislative office
Eight of the complaints were about an episode of the SET News political talk show New Taiwan Refueling (新台灣加油) that aired on Tuesday night.
“What the nation needs the most at this difficult time is to stand united and fight the virus together, but the program used the phrase ‘Wanhua virus’ in a headline and invited guests with no experience in public health to comment on the community infection in Wanhua,” one viewer told the NCC.
“The TV program abused its influence over the direction of public opinion, and completely disregarded journalism ethics and its social responsibility. As a broadcast media regulator, the NCC should examine the case immediately,” they said.
The viewer also said that the WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2015 established the principle that the names of newly discovered diseases should not include geographic locations, names of people, occupations, animals or food, or “terms that incite undue fear.”
The commission said it would forward the complaints to an independent content review committee, which would examine recorded materials prepared by the NCC.
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), who represents Taipei’s Zhongzheng (中正) and Wanhua districts, said his constituents told him that they were puzzled and angry at Wanhua suddenly becoming the origin of the virus, given that the outbreak was first detected in Wuhan, China, and the variant affecting Taiwan came from the UK.
Lin also accused Want Want China Times Group of discriminating against employees who live in Wanhua, saying that the company has arranged them to work on the same floor and in the same conference room, and has barred them from accessing break rooms.
“We received a tip that the media group looks at employees from Wanhua as a plague and treats them as if they are in concentration camps. However, it did not regulate access to the building as part of disease prevention efforts, such as asking employees to use separate entrances or elevators when entering or leaving the office,” Lin said.
Central and local government officials should investigate the allegations, as such practices are not only discriminatory, but they also increase the risks of contagion, he said.
Holy Mosquito, an online group formed by supporters of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), asked why the variant was called the “Wanhua virus,” and not “Novotel virus” or “311 virus.”
The group was referring to the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel, where the UK variant first spread through a community infection involving China Airlines pilots. The pilots were allowed to undergo a shortened quarantine period of only three days followed by 11 days of self-health management, as opposed to 14 days of quarantine and seven days of self-health management for travelers arriving from a foreign country.
Sanlih Entertainment Television, which owns SET News, issued an apology, saying its intention was not to cause chaos or vilify Wanhua residents.
The network also issued a correction in yesterday’s episode of the talk show and said the incident would be reviewed by its own news ethics committee.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS