Virus Outbreak: ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ accurate term: SuDISTRUST WARRANTED? These included China’s efforts to “bleach” its image, including having WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly praise its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, and thanking it for buying time for the global community, Tsai said. Premier Su Tseng-chang speaks during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. China has gone to great lengths to demand acclaim for having contained the new virus, but such manipulations always backfire when overdone, Su said. Given its history with China, Taiwan knew how important it was to be cautious when it comes to viral outbreaks and it successfully deployed early preventive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, Su said.

Virus Outbreak: New Taipei City man fined, taken to quarantine centerREPEAT OFFENDER: The man went outside for exercise on Wednesday and then left his home on Saturday with his girlfriend, officials saidBy Hsu Sheng-lun, Tsai Chang-sheng and Dennis Xie / Staff reporters, with staff writerA New Taipei City man has been fined NT$400,000 (US$13,221) and ordered into government quarantine after breaking home quarantine for a second time on Saturday. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳) returned to Taiwan on Sunday last week and was ordered to home quarantine until Sunday. A worker from a New Taipei City district office, second left, yesterday delivers a 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen, right, to the city’s quarantine center after he was ordered confined for contravening home quarantine since returning to Taiwan on March 22. Photo: Hsu Sheng-lun, Taipei TimesChen has now been placed in a quarantine center arranged by the district office and health center of the district where he lives, police said. Police warned the public that breaking home quarantine could help spread COVID-19, and offenders would face heavy fines.

Virus Outbreak: Taipei to cover the cost of quarantine stays in hotelsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei residents who stay at hotels in the city during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period are eligible to apply for the city’s NT$7,000 subsidy, with online applications to be launched next week. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) on Monday said Taipei residents who have COVID-19 Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notice dated after March 19 and a quarantine hotel receipt for the dates covered by the quarantine period, would be eligible for the subsidy. The Taipei City Government on Sunday told the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) that so many city residents are under home quarantine that about 90 percent of the city’s quarantine hotels are full, she said. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang, center, speaks at a news conference yesterday. Returning Taiwanese should also be asked to return home in groups every 14 days to avoid putting a strain on the city’s quarantine capacity, Huang said.

Chiang targeting young reformersBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterInstead of hating the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), help change it, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said, as he urged young people to join efforts to reform the party. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang is dressed as strategist Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms Period in a screen grab from a video posted on Facebook on Sunday. Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times“Even if [the KMT] is a 100-year-old party, it must maintain a young mentality, and understand what young people want and what they want the KMT to do,” Chiang wrote. Chiang said that he would follow through on a proposal he made during his campaign for the party chair earlier this year — to create an advisory group comprised of young KMT members. Chiang plans to preside over the committee, which would meet regularly and serve as the party’s “catalyst for communication with society,” he said.

Judicial Yuan orders adultery interpretationBy Chen Wei-tzu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerSenior judges yesterday met to discuss the constitutionality of a law that makes adultery a criminal offense, before being ordered by Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) to set a date for a constitutional interpretation within the next month. The judges met to discuss Article 239 of the Criminal Code on offenses against marriage and family, after 18 judges had called for a constitutional interpretation of the issue. The Council of Grand Justices hears arguments on whether the nation’s law on adultery is unconstitutional in Taipei yesterday. “Decriminalizing adultery does not mean encouraging people to have affairs, but you cannot deal with the pain and suffering caused by adultery by using the criminal justice system,” he said. There are already sufficient laws to protect the interests of married couples and adultery should be decriminalized, Pong said.

Virus Outbreak: Taiwan does not need China for WHO, ministry saysBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan will negotiate with the WHO about its participation without Beijing’s help and intervention as more countries, including Australia and Japan, are partnering with Taiwan to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei TimesAsked about Kong’s remarks, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that Taiwan would negotiate for its participation by itself. In related news, Australia is to exchange medical supplies with Taiwan, after Taiwan and the US earlier this month jointly announced that they would enhance cooperation to contain the disease. The foreign ministry helped negotiate the matter and is glad to see Taiwan and Australia boost their bilateral friendship through reciprocal collaboration, Ou said. Japan Airlines said it could help Taiwanese in Tokyo book flights to Taipei, she said.

Wowprime share price up due to vouchersWIN-WIN SITUATION: As shareholders would likely spend extra money when using the voucher, it would help the firm pay personnel costs and rent, an analyst saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterRestaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品) yesterday saw its share price increase 9.98 percent to NT$63.9, after the company announced that it would provide gift vouchers to those who bought its shares. In the previous two years, the company provided shareholders with a NT$500 voucher and a 25 percent discount coupon. Wowprime shares were also popular in the regular market, with 1.802 million shares traded, compared with the daily average transaction of 368,000 shares this month, the data showed. “It seems that Wowprime successfully protected its share price with the food voucher. Given that the company has about 22,000 shareholders, it is expected to issue food vouchers worth NT$48.4 million.

Fees, interest give SCSB best profitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterShanghai Commercial and Savings Bank Ltd (SCSB, 上海商業儲蓄銀行) on Monday reported record-high profit for last year on the back of higher income from fees and interest. Net profit increased 6.9 percent year-on-year to NT$14.66 billion (US$484.6 billion), or earnings per share of NT$3.5, with net fee income rising 19 percent to NT$6.52 billion and net interest income increasing 10 percent to NT$29.94 billion, the bank said. The bank’s Hong Kong operations reported increased lending despite pro-democracy protests, Lin said. SCSB this year expects growth of 10 percent on its loan book, given it has few borrowers in the aviation, hotel and tourism sectors, Lin said. However, low interest rates remain a major concern for profit growth this year, as net interest margin would continue to contract following interest rate cuts by central banks worldwide, he said.

Virus Outbreak: Tourism official demoted over subordinatesBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterA Tourism Bureau official who ordered two subordinates stationed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to meet his son was yesterday demoted and given a major demerit, and one of the subordinates was also given a major demerit. The bureau’s Performance Evaluation Committee decided on the punishments after reviewing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ investigation into the actions of the official, surnamed Lin (林). “It was heartbreaking to know that a five-year-old child contracted the virus because of a Tourism Bureau official’s negligence,” the minister wrote. “We have tracked the whereabouts last week of the bureau official and disinfected the places that he had visited. All Tourism Bureau employees have now been asked to wear masks to work and been moved to work in different offices to avoid cluster infections,” he said.

It has the support of the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan, but would not be finalized until a detailed report is made by the Directorate-General of Highways and approved by the Executive Yuan, the ministry said. Lin has been communicating with the Presidential Office and Executive Yuan to secure the funding, the ministry said. There are an estimated 16,000 tour bus drivers and 100,000 taxi drivers nationwide who would be eligible for the subsidies, it said. Bus drivers can also apply for up to NT$110,000 to cover driver training courses under that package. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has asked the Executive Yuan to discuss the issue, and it was expected to make an announcement soon, he wrote.

Taichung to be first to ban e-cigarette use by minorsBy Chang Ching-ya and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaichung is set to become the first of the nation’s six special municipalities to ban residents under the age of 18 from using or possessing e-cigarettes, starting in September. Under the Taichung Autonomous Act for E-Cigarette Hazards Prevention (台中市電子煙危害防制自治條例) passed by the Taichung City Council on Wednesday, provision of e-cigarettes or related items to minors or pregnant women is to be punishable by a fine between NT$10,000 and N$50,000, as of Sept. 28. Using e-cigarettes at schools, museums and movie theaters or on public transportation systems is also to be banned, with violators liable to fines ranging from NT$2,000 to NT$10,000. A person uses an e-cigarette on Nov. 6 last year in Taipei. E-cigarettes had fallen between the regulatory cracks as they are not considered a tobacco product under the terms of the Tobacco Hazard and Prevention Act (菸害防治法), the Taichung City Government said.

Tsai unveils memorial to officers killed in JanuaryStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday unveiled a memorial wall honoring eight senior military officers who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in January, including former chief of the general staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴). President Tsai Ing-wen, center left, yesterday presents a commemorative plaque to a relative of one of the eight military officers killed in a helicopter crash in January at the unveiling of a memorial wall outside the Ministry of Defense in Taipei honoring the men. Tsai once again expressed her sorrow and offered condolences to the officers’ families, thanking the men for their contributions to the nation. “Lastly, I want to tell the eight officers who died while carrying out their duties: We will remember your sacrifices,” she said. Prior to the unveiling, Tsai led a spring memorial service in honor of national martyrs at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine, which is about 1km from the ministry.

The cover of the nation’s passports bears the name “Republic of China” in English under the nation’s official Chinese name, while “Taiwan” is printed in English under the national emblem. Republic of China passports are pictured in Taipei on Feb. 26. “People have suggested using stickers or passport holders to distinguish the Taiwanese passport from the Chinese passport. We suggest that the passport cover be redesigned,” NPP Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said. The party would ask people to submit their ideas for a new passport cover design before the summer vacation, Hsu said, adding that it would work with experts to create samples for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider.

9) — as part of a six-month trial, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Facebook on Saturday night. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications already allows big bikes to use Highway No. An entrance and exit for the Tsaopu Senyung Tunnel on the South Link Highway is pictured on March 3. Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei TimesMotorcycles with an engine displacement of more than 50 cubic centimeters (cc) are classified as heavy motorcycles, and those with engine displacement of more than 250cc are categorized as large heavy motorcycles, Lin said. Lrge heavy motorcycles should have yellow license plates if their engine displacement is between 250cc and 550cc, while those with 550cc or larger engines use red plates, he said.

Virus Outbreak: People who litter masks face fines of up to NT$6,000Staff writer, with CNAPeople who throw away their masks in public areas can be fined up to NT$6,000, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. Masks fall under the category of general waste and should be disposed of in regular garbage bins, the ministry said. However, those who discard their masks on the street can be fined NT$1,200 to NT$6,000 under the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), it said. Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei TimesLocal governments have reported an increase in the number of discarded masks since the COVID-19 outbreak began, as the use of masks has skyrocketed. Only four masks were found in the garbage bins that the hospital had set up, the bureau said.