EDITORIAL: Stop ‘escaping’ the outbreakAs the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increases in Taiwan, it is immensely important for people to stay at home and only travel if absolutely necessary. Classes are being canceled and people are working from home to reduce traffic, but in some cases the outbreak has sparked unnecessary travel. There have been reports of university students, most of whose classes have been moved online, returning home from the level 3 alert areas of Taipei and New Taipei City to “take refuge” from the outbreak. Former Taoyuan city councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇), who now resides in Taitung, yesterday posted a more egregious example on Facebook. The heads of several Aboriginal-majority townships in Pingtung County on Monday advised hikers not to visit until the outbreak is contained, or at least plan their routes to avoid villages.

Biden must have a clear messageBy Joseph BoscoAs a Chinese Communist Party attack on Taiwan seems more plausible, three current or former high-ranking US Navy officials recently warned of the danger. Two weeks later, US Admiral John Aquilino, Davidson’s successor, testified that Beijing could act against Taiwan even sooner. When Chinese military officials in 1995 asked the administration of then-US president Bill Clinton how it would respond if China attacked Taiwan, they were told: “We don’t know... However, even Biden himself must reinforce a message of clarity and resolve to end the ambiguity on defending Taiwan. If Biden has delivered a private warning to Beijing, as Trump said he did, Xi will decide whether a deniable message is even less credible than former US president Barack Obama’s public “red line” on Syria proved to be.

Taipower given a week to come up with a power planOUTAGES: The utility blamed Monday’s rolling blackouts on a surge in power usage, which hit a record for the month of May of 37.44 gigawattsBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterState-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has one week to come up with a plan to maintain a stable power supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday, after the nation had two rolling blackouts in five days. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesPeak usage on Monday was 37.44 gigawatts, a record for the month of May and the sixth-highest on record, she said. “As power consumption patterns change, we must also change our strategy for scheduling repairs and maintenance,” she said. Taipower chairman Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said all the power plants undergoing maintenance would return to full operations before next month. Asked if households and businesses can expect more blackouts this summer, Yang said that Taipower would maximize the available capacity and give users as much warning as possible ahead of any blackouts.

COVID-19: Kaohsiung tightens restrictions after second infectionStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung yesterday further tightened its COVID-19 restrictions after a local hospital reported a second confirmed infection. Medical workers on Monday evacuate people from a hospital in Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District after an administrative worker tested positive for COVID-19. He stayed at home on May 9 and developed a sore throat the next day. He returned to the hospital on Monday, even though his sore throat persisted, the department said. Because of the sore throat and his travel history to Wanhua, the hospital tested him for COVID-19 and the result came back positive the same day, it said.

The measure is being taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19 cluster infections, the ministry said in a statement. Centers providing after-school childcare services, cram schools and other educational institutions must also suspend classes during that period, it said. Students at Keelung’s Wulun Junior High School yesterday take their belongings home after the government announced the closure of all schools from today until May 28 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Local governments should provide food for disadvantaged students below high-school level during the period of online learning, it added. The nationwide suspension of all in-person instruction comes after Taipei and New Taipei City on Monday announced that public and private junior-high and high schools, vocational high schools, elementary schools, kindergartens, after-school care centers and cram schools would be closed from yesterday to Friday next week.

The Penghu County Government has suspended the Penghu Fireworks Festival and other tourism events until June 8, Lai said at a disease prevention meeting. “We urge students, police officers, civil servants and military personnel who are from Taiwan proper, but currently study or work in Penghu, to consider postponing trips home until after May 28. Those returning to work or school from Taiwan proper should observe self-health management guidelines for 14 days,” Lai said. Airlines canceled 52 domestic flights to Penghu and 44 flights to Kinmen from Friday last week to Sunday, Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) data showed. Prior to the surge in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Taiwan proper, nearly all flights departing for Penghu at the weekend were full, it said.

COVID-19: Commuters offered disease prevention tips onlineStaff writerA pediatrician has offered some tips on preventing the spread of COVID-19 while commuting. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFEWhen possible, Ou said she finishes breakfast at home and leaves for work 30 minutes earlier than usual to avoid the crowds. After arriving home from work, Ou takes off her shoes at the entrance and disinfects her keys, as well as any clothing she would not be washing the same day. Separately, dietitian Kao Min-min (高敏敏) also wrote on Facebook measures people can take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. People should cook their own meals or order takeout as much as possible, Kao wrote.

Synnex Technology looks to book gain after unloading of Concentrix sharesBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterSynnex Technology International Corp (聯強國際), the nation’s second-biggest electronics distributor, yesterday said that it expects to book a gain of NT$727 million (US$26 million) from the disposal of some Concentrix Corp shares listed on the NASDAQ Composite. Synnex distributes a wide range of electronic products, from Fitbit Inc’s wearable devices to Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩電腦) notebook computers. The logo of Synnex Technology International Corp is displayed on the facade of the company’s headquarters in Taipei on March 8, 2019. In the first four months of this year, revenue increased 29.16 percent to NT$118.57 billion from NT$91.8 billion in the same period last year. “Given the favorable business environment, it is likely that the company will reach a new revenue record,” Synnex said.

Groups urge Beijing to offer details on Panchen LamaBy Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan on Monday called on Beijing to provide details on the 11th Panchen Lama, who was kidnapped by the Chinese government 26 years ago. The 11th Panchen Lama, born Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was abducted along with his family by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1995 when he was six years old. In the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism that is practiced in Tibet, the Panchen Lama is responsible for seeking out the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and his authority is second only to the Dalai Lama. “In the past, human rights groups and Buddhists called for the unconditional release of the 11th Panchen Lama, but the Chinese government always lied. China should release Gedhun at once and provide a comprehensive report to the UN’s human rights bodies,” Shih said.

Investors were buoyed by hopes that Taiwan might soon receive more COVID-19 vaccines and also by strong buying among foreign institutional investors on Monday, dealers said. A smartphone app tracks the TAIEX session at a brokerage company in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesTurnover totaled NT$410.207 billion (US$14.68 billion), as foreign institutional investors continued to pour money into the market, registering a net buy of NT$22.13 billion, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said. Before yesterday’s rebound, the TAIEX had plunged 11.78 percent since the beginning of last week as Taiwan saw an escalation of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. Stock traders are preparing for more volatility ahead, loading up on options tracking the TAIEX.

Five hikers suspected as Yushan fire still blazesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterFive hikers are the main suspects in a forest fire that, as of press time last night, continued to burn in Yushan National Park. The fire started on Sunday morning at Dujyuan Campground, near Dashueikushan (大水窟山), the Yushan National Park Administration said, citing reports from forest rangers and hikers in the area. Smoke billows from a large forest fire at Yushan National Park on Sunday. Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei TimesBased on the reports, officials identified a group of five hikers as the most likely suspects. Situated within the high mountains, Yushan National Park covers the administrative districts of Nantou, Chiayi and Hualien counties, and parts of Kaohsiung.

Yuan holdings at Taiwanese banks fall 1.04 percentUNPOPULAR: The decline was mostly due to falling interest rates, as people constantly moved capital in search of better returns, the central bank saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterChinese yuan deposits held by Taiwanese banks last month fell 1.04 percent to 239.11 billion yuan (US$37.1 billion), as local investors lost some interest in the currency and favored other financial assets to pursue better yields, the central bank said yesterday. “The retreat in yuan deposits had much to do with a drop in interest rates for yuan deposits,” the central bank said, as investors continually moved capital around to pursue better yields. Yuan deposits held by domestic banking units weakened by 1.14 percent to 207.58 billion yuan, compared with 209.97 billion yuan in March, the bank said. Meanwhile, yuan deposits at offshore banking units shrank 0.43 percent from 31.67 billion yuan to 31.53 billion yuan, it added. Globally, Taiwan’s yuan deposits ranked the second-largest, next only to Hong Kong’s 772.5 billion, and ahead of Singapore’s 152 billion yuan and South Korea’s 11.6 billion yuan, the bank said.

COVID-19: Siaoliouciou, Green Island businesses suspend serviceBy Tsai Ming-hsien and Chen Hsien-yi / Staff reportersHoteliers, restaurateurs and tour operators on Pingtung County’s Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) and Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島) have voluntarily halted their services until end of this month after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) raised the COVID-19 alert in Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 on Saturday. Since Saturday, hoteliers, restaurateurs and tour operators on Siaoliuciou began appealing to their peers online to collectively suspend services until Friday next week to avoid further spread of the disease. Meanwhile, 80 percent of bed and breakfast operators, hoteliers and restaurateurs on Green Island have voluntarily suspended business. They have signed a petition demanding that the Lyudao Township (綠島) Office to impose a lockdown on the island. “The township office does not have the authority to impose a lockdown, but we will submit the proposal to the CECC and Taitung County Government and let them make the final decision,” Lyudao Township Office chief Hsieh Hsien-yu (謝賢裕) said.

COVID-19: TRA ridership on Sunday plummets amid case surgePUBLIC TRANSPORT: The number of TRA and Taipei MRT passengers dropped 50% and 40% respectively during the peak morning travel hours yesterdayBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterRidership on the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) system on Sunday fell about 60 percent following a surge in locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Taipei and New Taipei City, the agency said yesterday. TRA estimated a 50 percent decline in ridership during the peak morning hours yesterday, the first work day under stricter disease prevention measures. A Taiwan Railways Administration employee holds a disease prevention information sign on the platform of a train station in Taipei yesterday, while a train waits at the platform. “In addition to on the trains, eating and drinking is banned on platforms and in waiting areas,” he said. In Taipei and New Taipei City, ridership on the cities’ MRT railway or public bus systems has dramatically declined since the CECC raised the COVID-19 alert for the two municipalities to level 3 on Saturday last week.

COVID-19: Virus-related childcare leave must be approvedBy Lai Hsiao-tung / Staff reporterGovernment agencies and companies must approve “disease prevention childcare leave” requests by employees who need to take care of a child under the age of 12 or with a disability, although employers would not be required to pay them while they are on leave, labor authorities said yesterday. If an employee’s family member cannot take care of themselves and is under home isolation or quarantine, or centralized isolation or quarantine, and needs to be taken care of, the employee may also take “epidemic prevention isolation leave,” it said. Employers would not be required to pay employees’ salaries while they are on leave, it said, adding that employers and employees may negotiate the terms. The New Power Party’s (NPP) caucus said last year it had asked that employees taking “disease prevention childcare leave” be paid. Salary subsidies for “disease prevention childcare leave” should be included in discussions of the Executive Yuan’s proposals to amend the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), and the COVID-19 relief budget should be increased to NT$630 billion, the NPP caucus said, urging other causes and lawmakers to support it.