This Week in Taiwan 0210-0220
February 10: The administration of President Joe Biden in the United States has called for cross-strait dialogue. In public remarks following a high-level national security meeting before Chinese New Year, President Tsai Ing-wen stressed that the key to cross-strait peace lies in China's hands. She wished people on the opposite side of the strait health and safety in the year ahead and expressed hopes to promote cross-strait peace and stability.
February 11: On the eve before Chinese New Year, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a phone call. Biden expressed deep concerns about China's crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang as well as arbitrary actions in the region, including towards Taiwan and stressed that maintaining the freedom and openness of the Indo-Pacific region is a top priority for the United States. Xi urged the United States should act cautiously on these issues and claimed that U.S.-China confrontation would be a "disaster."
The Office of the President thanked Biden for his concern for security in the Taiwan Strait and human rights issues and reiterated that Taiwan will continue to work closely with the United States to contribute jointly to the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.
February 17: In order to avoid confusion with mainland Chinese coast guard vessels, the Coast Guard Administration, Ocean Affairs Council, ordered changes to the side text coating of Taiwanese sea patrol vessels. In addition to the existing "R.O.C. Coast Guard" text, "Taiwan" was added to the New Taipei and Penghu vessels and will be subsequently be painted to the next 225 vessels. According to the Office of the President, when dealing with "gray area conflicts," adding "Taiwan" to the painted coating will allow naval patrol vessels to be more clearly identified and enforce the law more safely.
February 17: The Taoyuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), saw an outbreak of cluster coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission starting January 12. Since then, a total of 21 people has tested positive, and the hospital has suspended business for more than a month. The Taoyuan General Hospital is to resume operations February 19. Special wards will be reduced in scale, and isolation wards will not be open for the time being. Operation will be further adjusted based on smooth administration and future circumstances.
February 19: With the Biden administration in office, U.S.-China relations has eased. The Office of the President adjusted national security personnel, hoping to promote reforms in national defense and the appropriate and stable handling of cross-strait relations. Chiu Tai-san will take office as minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), while current MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong will assume the position of director-general of the National Security Bureau (NSB). Current NSB Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng will head the Ministry of National Defense (MND), while current MND Minister Yen Teh-fa will serve as consultant for the National Security Council. They will assume their new positions effective February 23, before a new session opens at the Legislative Yuan on February 26.
February 20: As a result of strong export growth, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, issued its latest economic forecast, raising its estimates for 2021 economic growth to 4.64 percent. This is not only 0.81 percentage points higher than the estimate of 3.83 percent in November but also the highest rate of economic growth since 2015.
February 20: The first batch of 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines purchased through COVAX will arrive in Taiwan this week. The Food and Drug Administration, MOHW, approved emergency permits to three companies from Germany, South Korea, and Italy so that the inoculation of AstraZeneca vaccines can begin within seven days of their arrival in Taiwan. Medical personnel may receive priority vaccinations as soon as March.
On February 15, the World Health Organization approved an emergency use permit for the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. COVAX, the global access mechanism for coronavirus vaccines, subsequently launched the first wave of vaccine distribution.