South Korean pop star CL, leader of the girl group 2NE1, was invited to be a guest performer at the S2O Taiwan Songkran Music Festival, but would not be able to attend as the event organizer failed to meet disease prevention requirements.
The organizer blamed the Ministry of Culture for not approving its disease prevention plan for the event, which is to take place this weekend.
The organizer yesterday said on Facebook that the event is to be held as scheduled, adding that some artists are unable to fly to Taiwan because “government agencies kept passing the buck over our free-of-quarantine project without giving us a direct response.”
Photo: screen grab from Spunite’s Facebook page
The ministry issued a statement yesterday in response, saying that it had reminded the organizer several times and provided examples of such a plan, but the organizer did not submit a plan until Wednesday night.
It rejected the plan as the disease prevention measures were flawed for an event that involves 68 foreign artists and staff, the ministry said.
All international travelers arriving in Taiwan are required to practice three days of home quarantine, followed by four days of self-disease prevention.
The Central Epidemic Command Center told a news conference on Thursday last week that under special circumstances, organizers can submit a disease prevention plan to the center to apply for quarantine exemption.
The organizers did not examine the event venue in advance or inform border control agencies of the plan for customs clearance and traveler quarantine, the ministry said.
The submitted plan did not include the list of staff, contact tracing method or disinfection plan for the event venue or the hotels where artists and staff will stay, it added.
The ministry said that it would support and assist special project applications, but reminded event organizers to adhere to current disease prevention measures.
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A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
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