Moderna vaccines touch down in TaoyuanBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe government yesterday welcomed the arrival of 150,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the first batch of its order from the US pharmaceutical firm. The first batch of 150,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is unloaded at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. “We should provide Taiwan with vaccines as soon as possible,” the head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s policy group, Masahisa Sato, told a news briefing following the meeting. “Taiwan has many friends in Japan doing their best to help Taiwan in various ways. Local governments or businesses that intend to apply to import COVID-19 vaccines can ask pharmaceutical firms to submit vaccine rollout plans, instructions, storage and cooling logistics plans, manufacturing authorizations and documents that confirm a vaccine’s commercialization in other countries, the CECC said.

CECC reports 297 new domestic casesEMPLOYEE HEALTH: The center said that it ‘agreed in principle’ to allow businesses to use rapid testing to check staff for COVID-19, and would draft recommendationsBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 297 new local COVID-19 cases, 258 backlogged cases and 19 deaths. The daily number of local cases over the past two weeks has remained consistent, showing no sign of declining, Chen said. Of the new local cases, 157 are male and 140 are female, with the onset of their symptoms between April 29 and Thursday, Chen said. Photo: CNAOf the 258 backlogged cases, 133 are male and 125 are female, with the onset of their symptoms from May 11 to Thursday, center data showed. Among them, 141 are from New Taipei City, 114 from Taipei, two from Changhua and one from Taoyuan, the data showed.

COVID-19: Outbreak upsets nation’s virus response calculationsAP, TAIPEIFacing Taiwan’s largest COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began and looking for rapid virus test kits, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) did what anyone might do: He searched for it online. A police officer, right, is pictured in personal protective equipment at a rapid COVID-19 screening station at New Taipei City’s Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium. Experts say that rapid tests are a critical tool in catching the virus in its early days. “You’re basically running against time.”With so few cases, Taiwan had been a bubble of normalcy for most of the pandemic. The government has not encouraged rapid tests, which are quicker and cheaper, but potentially less accurate.

More locally produced children’s shows neededCHILDREN’S RIGHTS: The Control Yuan called for legal changes to require TV stations to produce children’s programs to protect their right to communicationBy Hsieh Chun-lin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe government should push terrestrial and cable television stations to produce more children’s shows, among other measures, to promote locally made children’s programs, the Control Yuan said on Tuesday. Control Yuan members Lai Ting-ming (賴鼎銘), Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) and Yeh ta-hua (葉大華) made the recommendations after conducting a probe into government efforts to produce and broadcast children’s shows. Domestically produced children’s programs accounted for 6.53 percent of all such programs on terrestrial channels, 2.29 percent on cable variety channels and 25.63 percent on cable children’s channels, it said. The NCC should spearhead a legislative effort to require terrestrial and cable channels based in Taiwan to produce children’s programs so as to increase their air time and share of domestic shows, it said. Since 2017, various ministries have provided more than NT$200 million (US$7.2 million) in subsidies and capital injections to Public Television Service (PTS) and privately owned media companies to make children’s programs, the report said.

COVID-19: Council plans additional NT$210bn for virus reliefStaff writer, with CNAThe National Development Council (NDC) yesterday detailed a plan to allocate an additional NT$210 billion (US$7.55 billion) budget to the government’s COVID-19 relief fund in the wake of an escalating community spread of the coronavirus in Taiwan. Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) told a news conference after a weekly Cabinet meeting that the budget is expected to go toward helping the hardest-hit individuals and industries, as well as providing additional loans to people in need. National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin speaks at a news conference after a weekly Cabinet meeting in Taipei yesterday. The central bank would also offer additional loans of NT$100 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises, bringing the total to NT$400 billion, he said. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic slows down, it is possible that similar packages would again be launched, Lo added.

American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen delivers a virtual farewell speech in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times, from an AIT livestreamChristensen lauded Taiwan’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the nation’s health authorities would certainly contain the latest outbreak. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, seated center, speaks at a news conference at the Taipei City Epidemic Command Center yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that 150,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses would be distributed to local governments today and frontline healthcare workers who are directly exposed to infected people would have priority. Chen on Tuesday announced that 2 million vaccine doses would arrive by the end of next month and 10 million doses, including locally produced ones, would be available by August.

‘True monsoon’ is on the way, agency says‘SPECIFIC PHENOMENON’: The Water Resources Agency said that rain forecast for this weekend might arrive in time to avoid additional restrictions in Hsinchu CountyBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterA “true monsoon” is on its way this weekend, Water Resources Agency Deputy Director-General Wang Yi-feng (王藝峰) said yesterday, citing Central Weather Bureau predictions. However the rain so far has been from “summer storms” that do not compare in magnitude to a true monsoon, Wang said. “As the plum rain season lasts from May to June, we have gotten into the habit of calling all rainfall in that period ‘monsoon rain,’ but a true monsoon is a specific meteorological phenomenon that is far more powerful and sustained than summer storms,” he said. It would be “no problem” for the monsoon to boost that to 100mm, Wang said. Taichung, Miaoli County and northern Changhua County are under a “red” alert, meaning that the agency provides households and businesses with water for five days per week.

Employing multiple approaches to purchase vaccines from the US should be prioritized, with possible support from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). On April 14 last year, an advertisement in the New York Times coined the slogan “Taiwan can help” amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the US. The AIT should also assist Taiwan to purchase vaccines from the US. In the meantime, Taiwan desperately needs help from all available sources, especially the AIT, to purchase vaccines from the US. As COVID-19 has spiked so quickly and pervasively in Taiwan, acquiring enough vaccines for all residents is a national mission that cannot be ignored.

The ceremony for the 32nd Golden Melody Awards, originally scheduled to be held at the Taipei Arena on June 26, has been postponed, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. Details, including when and how the ceremony would be held, are to be announced at a later date, it said. Musicians hold their nomination trophies at a preliminary ceremony for the 30th Golden Melody Awards in Taipei on May 12. All schools have also been asked to either cancel their graduation ceremonies or hold them online, the education ministry said. Indoor gatherings of more than five people and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited under level 3 restrictions.

COVID-19: Research vessel panned for sailing amid outbreakRETURNED TO PORT: The vessel left Tainan before the nationwide COVID-19 alert was raised to level 3, and none of the crew showed symptoms, an institute saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe management of a research vessel has been accused of flouting government regulations by letting the ship sail out to sea amid a COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. However, the management said the vessel had departed before the nationwide COVID-19 alert was raised to level 3. The R/V Legend is pictured moored at a harbor in an undated photograph. The R/V Legend surveyed the waters northeast of Taiwan, the ministry said in a statement. The Central Epidemic Command Center’s disease prevention guidelines are prioritized, Lin said, adding that the R/V Legend crew did not contravene any regulations.

TAIEX up slightly as interest in tech sector declinesStaff writer, with CNAShares in Taiwan moved into consolidation mode yesterday, closing slightly higher after a lackluster overnight performance by US markets. The TAIEX closed up 48.02 points, or 0.29 percent, at 16,643.69, on turnover of NT$425.761 billion (US$15.3 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. On Tuesday, the TAIEX surged 1.58 percent after the tech sector soared 2.28 percent. It was no surprise that the TAIEX failed to make a breakthrough today,” Tsai said. “As interest in the tech sector faded, buying rotated to old-economy stocks, in particular in the shipping and steel sectors,” he said.

At this stage, it is premature to say how big the impact will be,” Yulon Nissan spokesman Joseph Hsiung (熊金鐸) told an online investors’ meeting. Yulon Nissan Motor Co said it plans to introduce more electric models, including the second-generation Leaf model, this year. Photo: Amy Yang, Taipei TimesThe nationwide soft lockdown has reduced the number of showroom visitors and vehicle sales this month, Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) vice president Lee Chien-hui (李建輝) said. The issue at stake is the increase in manufacturing costs caused by price hikes of key components and raw materials, including precious metals, and higher shipping costs, Yulon Nissan said. The company is also looking to introduce more electric models, including the second-generation Leaf model and hybrid system developed by Nissan, Hsiung added.

U-Ming bullish on global recovery, rise in iron oreBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterU-Ming Marine Transport Corp (裕民航運), a bulk shipper and member of Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), is upbeat about the bulk shipping business in the coming quarters on expectations of a recovery in the global economy, a rise in iron ore production and an expansion of grain exports from the US, the company said yesterday. Revenue increased 47 percent year-on-year to NT$3.6 billion for the first four months of the year, company data showed. The sign and logo of U-Ming Marine Transport Corp are pictured on the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s Web site yesterday. “As 70 percent of our fleet deliver as a spot charter, the rising BDI has a positive correlation with our revenue,” Chang said. Global demand for steel this year is expected to increase 4.1 percent, after a decline of 2.4 percent last year, and major miners expect to see a stable rise in iron ore production, so U-Ming expects strong demand for iron ore transport this year, he said.

FSC says insurance companies need to protect rights of COVID-19 policyholdersBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Tuesday called on property insurance companies to safeguard the rights of policyholders at a time when Taiwan faces a surge in COVID-19 infections. Since late last year, several insurers have launched COVID-19 policies, which would require them to compensate policyholders who are infected with the virus and given medical treatment. People line up outside the headquarters of Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District on Jan. 25 to purchase its COVID-19 insurance. This prompted the Consumers’ Foundation earlier on Tuesday to raise the concern of whether insurers would compensate policyholders in such circumstances. As of Monday, insurance companies had paid out NT$64.75 million (US$2.33 million) to 880 policyholders.

The Kinmen and Matsu challengeBy Jerome KeatingChiseled into rock in Kinmen County’s Jinhu Township (金湖) are the Chinese characters for one of Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) favorite memes. The CCP never captured Kinmen and Matsu, which allows them to be considered the KMT’s “city of Ju” for the ROC. As for Kinmen and Matsu, technically the Chinese Civil War has never ended. In the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan simply surrendered its sovereignty over Taiwan, but Kinmen and Matsu are different. A decision on Kinmen and Matsu would force all sides to expose their spurious hegemonic wishes and claims.