The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday evening held an award ceremony and gratitude banquet for groups that helped the nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years.
The event at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel was attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former minister of health and welfare and Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) director Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who succeeded Chen Shih-chung as CECC head, as well as about 400 representatives from all walks of life.
The event began with a minute of silence in tribute to the more than 19,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in Taiwan.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Tsai offered sincere condolences on behalf of the government to the lives lost during the pandemic and expressed gratitude to those who contributed to fighting COVID-19.
“There are endless people to thank and endless heartfelt gratitude to express,” she said. “We are truly thankful for all of you. It is so good for Taiwan to have you.”
Taiwan and its international partners helped each other overcome the harsh challenges of the pandemic, Tsai said.
Now that life is gradually returning to normal, Taiwan welcomes its friends from around the world to visit the nation, Tsai said.
However, there would be more challenges in the future, she said, urging the international community to continue to work with Taiwan.
Chen Chien-jen said Taiwan demonstrated its resilience in the face of many disasters and adversities.
Lessons learned from fighting SARS in 2003 prepared Taiwan for the pandemic, the premier said, adding that under the lead of Tsai, Su, CECC officials and frontline disease prevention and healthcare personnel, as well as collective efforts from the public, Taiwan performed well in fighting COVID-19.
He said he believes no matter what challenges lie ahead, Taiwanese would continue to enhance social cohesion to make Taiwan a better, warm-hearted and resilient country.
Tsai and Chen Chien-jen presented 108 awards to healthcare professionals, frontline disease prevention teams, local governments and other groups, such as those involved in organizing disease prevention taxi services.
The event ended with officials holding placards with letters spelling out “Taiwan end COVID-19” and “Taiwan COVID-19 hope and resilience.”
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS