Prominent businesspeople and figures in entertainment yesterday said that they were on a list and had been vaccinated for COVID-19 at a Good Liver Clinic (好心肝診所) branch in Taipei.
PChome Online Inc chairman Jan Hung-tze (詹宏志) said that he was on the list and had received the vaccination at one of the clinic’s branches, as did TV and radio host Alvin Hou (侯昌明), actors Kuo Tzu-chien (郭子乾) and Jamie Weng (翁家明), and iQiyi executive Young Min (楊鳴).
Judicial personnel are investigating alleged breaches of the law amid a public outcry over the vaccinations, which the clinic said were conducted in the belief that all of Taipei’s healthcare workers had been inoculated.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Critics said that the clinic had favored “wealthy and famous” people to receive its allocation of AstraZeneca vaccines, which would be a breach of Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) policy to prioritize frontline medical personnel, police and emergency-response workers, among others.
Lists published online have been claimed to be of names of those in line to receive vaccines at the clinic.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that he had handed a list, apparently of names of people who Good Liver Clinic had vaccinated, over to prosecutors.
Prosecutors on Thursday questioned clinic director Sheu Jin-chuan (許金川) and 11 others, and searched clinic offices, as well as Taipei Department of Health offices.
Prosecutors said that corruption charges would be brought if evidence shows that health officials colluded with the clinic to obtain extra allotments of vaccines through falsified requisitions.
The Taipei Medical Association condemned the Taipei City Government in a press release.
“At the time this was written, more than 5,000 medical personnel at Taipei hospitals and clinics have not received jabs, but Good Liver Clinic was provided with vaccines to inoculate people affiliated with its office and even members of the public,” the statement said, demanding that the city government and the clinic explain who authorized its actions.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have initiated an investigation into reports of “VIP access” to COVID-19 vaccines at Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
Elsewhere, Yunlin County prosecutors said that they are investigating possible breaches of CECC policy after Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) denied “pushing into line” for COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of her brother, former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), and his daughter, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡).
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS