Su called on Chen to continue serving in his position steadfastly while waiting for the judiciary to prove his innocence. Hsu had forwarded a case involving Chen, NPA Department of Human Resources Director Chang Shu-fang (張淑芳), as well as NPA Director-General’s Office coordinators Wu Cheng-chieh (吳正杰), Chu Cheng-tzu (渠正慈) and Wang Wen-chu (王文助), to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Premier Su Tseng-chang yesterday comments on the Ministry of the Interior’s decision to report National Police Agency Director-General Chen Chia-chin to prosecutors during a visit to Taichung Distillery to inspect the progress of the distillery’s epidemic prevention measures. Su yesterday said he was dismayed by the incident, adding that the public is likely confused and unimpressed by the kerfuffle, especially amid fears over COVID-19. Su added that the ministry did not inform his aide of the matter until after 8pm on Friday.

Virus Outbreak: Next week critical in fight against coronavirus, Ko saysBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that the disease prevention measures implemented in the next week would be critical in determining how the nation’s COVID-19 situation develops. Ko made the remark on the sidelines of a launch event for Cherish Food Taiwan’s Cherish Food Kitchen, which is to provide 300 free hot boxed lunches each day to frontline healthcare professionals at seven hospitals in Taipei and New Taipei City. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, right, listens as New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi speaks yesterday at an event in New Taipei City organized by Cherish Food Taiwan. The seven hospitals are: New Taipei City Hospital’s Sanchong and Banciao branches, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taipei Hospital and Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital, Shinkong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital, and Taipei City Hospital’s Chung Hsin Branch. “In my opinion, the upcoming week is the most dangerous period [for Taiwan], as the reported cases have increased by about 20 every day,” he said.

Virus Outbreak: CAA initiates rules for crew, pilotsStaff writer, with CNAStrict measures forcing the cabin crews and pilots of local airlines to be quarantined at home between flights to combat COVID-19 were put into effect on Friday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said. The home quarantine period for cargo flights would be three days, Lin said. At home, the crew members are not allowed to leave their homes at all during their five-day or three-day quarantines. Previously, airline crew were not subject to the home-quarantine requirement as long as they followed the standard operating procedures while overseas. That practice raised concerns, particularly this week after two cargo flight pilots with China Airlines were confirmed to have contracted the disease.

Inaugurated in May 2018, the 2,629 tonne Legend is managed by the National Applied Research Laboratories’ Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI). An ocean floor seismometer developed by Taiwanese researchers is deployed in the Okinawa Trough in 2018. In September 2018, they deployed 35 OBSs in the trough and recovered 33 of them nine months later, Kuo said. The survey found that earthquakes below the northern trough can happen at depths of up to 300km, deeper than a previous observation of nearly 200km, he said. Developing more survey instruments instead of purchasing them from elsewhere is key to boosting research and industrial capacity, Kuo said.

Academia Sinica, National Chengchi University and National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) have issued announcements to clarify their quarantine measures for confirmed cases. There can be a lapse between a school’s disease prevention actions and the CECC’s daily case announcement, an NTHU administrative officer said on Friday. NTU said it was upset about criticism it had received over its disease prevention measures, as those criticizing it did not realize the measures’ importance. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, yesterday said that announcing confirmed cases is the center’s job, but it respects entities for disclosing detailed information if they do not divulge personal information. To avoid interagency confusion, the center would draft guidelines about information disclosure, he said, urging agencies to cooperate, instead of confronting each other.

KMT amendments reach committee review phaseYOUTHFUL APPROACH: Johnny Chiang called on the DPP to form a constitutional reform committee, saying that young people should speak up for their own rightsBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterA proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus to amend the Constitution to lower the legal voting age to 18 and the age ofpolitical party candidacy to 20 yesterday advanced to committee review. “Today is the most significant day for the reforms that the KMT has pledged to undertake,” KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) told a news conference in Taipei. As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been a vocal supporter of lowering the legal age of candidacy, it should quickly assemble a constitutional reform committee to respond to calls from young people, he added. Politicians have traditionally made decisions for young people without listening to what they really want, KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The KMT used to oppose lowering the legal voting age because it believed that younger voters generally disliked it, DPP caucus director-general Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said.

Virus Outbreak: Firm donates COVID-19 picture booksBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan Mac Educational Co is to donate 1,000 picture books about COVID-19 to the Ministry of Education, which said it would distribute them to schools across the nation, the publisher said on Tuesday. The book, titled Say Bye Bye to the Novel Coronavirus (和新型冠狀病毒說 Bye Bye) uses vivid illustrations to explain how COVID-19 has affected the world and what preventive measures people can adopt to keep it away, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) said. Kao said that she facilitated the donation after learning about the book’s upcoming release during an interview with the Taipei-based publisher about the outbreak’s effect on the local publishing industry. National Taiwan University Hospital pediatrician Huang Li-min, right, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu, center, and Taiwan Mac Educational Co president Huang Chang-fa hold copies of a picture book about COVID-19 at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. K-12 Education Administration member Chan Ya-hui (詹雅惠) said that her agency would send the books to schools across Taiwan, prioritizing rural areas.

E Ink eyes growth jump this quarter despite pandemicBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterE Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), a supplier of e-paper displays, expects a slight uptick in growth this quarter as demand for e-readers and electronic shelf labels (ESLs) improves amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said yesterday. The E Ink Holdings Inc booth at Computex Taipei is pictured on May 28 last year. It also plans to add manufacturing tools at its fab in Hsinchu, which would add some capacity, E Ink said. Last year’s downtrend in royalty income would likely extend into this year, the company said. Last year, E Ink took in NT$2.24 billion in royalty income by licensing advanced fringe field switching LCD technology to flat-panel makers.

Virus Outbreak: CECC’s Chen Shih-chung will not be replaced: premierBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterPremier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said he would not replace Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) as head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) last week called for Chen Shih-chung to be replaced, citing the contracting economy and panic buying of daily necessities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A police officer takes Premier Su Tseng-chang’s temperature before he enters the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesChen Shih-chung “is very professional and responsible, and he has done a great job,” Su told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Chen Shih-chung’s approval rating reflects public approval of the overall team, Su said.

Virus Outbreak: Locally grown tea may have treatment key, study saysStaff writer, with CNAResearchers have identified an antioxidant in locally grown black tea leaves as a potential inhibitor of protease activity in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said on Wednesday. Photo copied by Lin I-chang, Taipei TimesIn coronaviruses, RdRp catalyzes the replication of RNA from a template, making it an attractive candidate to help develop a treatment, Wu said. RdRp in SARS-CoV-2 is also a primary target for the antiviral remdesivir, which the WHO has called the most promising drug available for the treatment of COVID-19, he said. However, the exact in vivo effect is still unclear, and further research is needed to confirm the mechanism whereby theaflavin targets SARS-CoV-2, Wu said. If the treatment were proved to be viable, the government’s first priority would be to guarantee domestic supply, Chen said.

New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, left, and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je gesture at each other at a news conference following a joint city mayoral level meeting in Taipei yesterday. At yesterday’s meeting, the two mayors constantly applauded each other, vowing to work together to stop the virus’ spread. Taipei City Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that each city notifies the other about any coronavirus-related information so that officials stay informed. Hou said that New Taipei City would follow the central government’s guidance on disease prevention, adding that the two city leaders are shoulder-to-shoulder on that issue. Separately, Huang said that the Taipei City Government is considering a special scheme that would hire volunteers to help with home quarantines.

Virus Outbreak: Pandemic could cut GDP growth by 1.4%: ministerBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe COVID-19 pandemic might weigh on the nation’s economy through the second quarter and erase up to 1.4 percentage points from GDP growth this year in the worst-case scenario, National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said yesterday. The government would seek to retain GDP growth of more than 2 percent by introducing relief funds and stimulus measures that could be stepped up if necessary, she said. National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling speaks at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesDisruptions caused by the coronavirus on global economic activity would dent Taiwan’s GDP growth by 0.66 percentage points this year, if the world can contain the disease by June, she said. A protracted outbreak could reduce GDP growth by 1.4 percentage points in the worst-case scenario, in which tourist arrivals would continue to dwindle and export orders dry up, she added.

GoShare eyes Tainan for its scooter-sharing serviceBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterGoShare, an electric scooter sharing service provider with Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), plans to expand to Tainan next quarter in a strategic alliance with Aeon Motor Co (宏佳騰). GoShare executives yesterday introduce the company’s new GoShare service with parking points at 11 tourist attractions around New Taipei City. Aeon Motor is the first member of the Powered by Gogoro Network to join forces with GoShare to promote the sharing service. The company has deployed 4,000 electric scooters in Taoyuan and Taipei, a relatively smaller fleet than Wemo Corp (威摩科技), which has 7,000 electric scooters in Taipei, New Taipei City and Kaohsiung. Hotai Leasing Corp’s (和運租車) “iRent” electric scooter sharing service has a wider footprint, covering the six special municipalities of Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.

Virus Outbreak: Social distancing key to limiting COVID-19 spreadBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA public health expert yesterday warned that too many people are meeting in small groups in coffee shops and restaurants without keeping a proper distance from one another, as he urged the government to loosen the criteria for testing young Taiwanese returning from abroad for COVID-19. People need to keep a social distance of at least 2m, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health dean Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said as the college presented its seventh weekly report on COVID-19 at a morning news conference. More than 300,000 confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in more than three-quarters of all countries, and many nations have implemented different levels of border controls and restrictions to curb the spread, he said. National Taiwan University College of Public Health associate professor Chang Shu-sen speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. However, Chan said that the public needs to remember that the common enemy is the virus, not infected people, those under quarantine or people who have direct contact with them, such as healthcare workers.

Commission plans to prepare OTT rules by JulyBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe National Communications Commission (NCC) aims to present draft regulations governing over-the-top (OTT) media providers before the end of July, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) asked Chen about the commission’s progress on proposed regulations for OTT media, including Netflix, iQiyi and Line TV. Hong asked why OTT content from China is a national security issue, when TV stations are allowed to broadcast Chinese TV series. However, such an obligation is not imposed on streaming media, he said. While big online streaming media, such as iQiyi, would definitely be regulated, the commission has yet to determine how they would be managed, Chen said.