Published since 2019 by the Fair Winds Foundation and Association of Foreign Relations, Taiwan Weekly provides in-depth report and analysis of the major issues facing Taiwan.
June 6: The rainy season and typhoon Caiyun brought abundant rainfall to Taiwan. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, who heads the Central Drought Disaster Response Center, announced that the mechanism in Miaoli, Taichung, and northern Changhua where water would be supplied for five days but suspended for two days per week would be lifted immediately. The red-light water-use restriction this time lasted some 61 days, breaking the previous historical record of 54 days in Taipei in 2002. It is expected that current water conditions will be stable until the end of July.
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The 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by Japan arrived in Taiwan June 4, while the United States committed to donate 7 million doses of vaccine to Asian countries including Taiwan.
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One outcome from Taiwan's failure to date to timely acquire a sufficient quantity of vaccines is that what in reality should be a commercial relationship between the manufacturers and Taiwan’s government, has unnecessarily become a foreign policy matter that certain Taiwan politicians and other individuals in Taiwan are seeking to exploit.
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Recently, the Taoyuan International Airport has once again become lively after a long period of time.
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May 31: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic situation in Taiwan remains challenging. The government has not procured vaccines effectively, while efforts by companies and private groups to purchase vaccines themselves persistently face bureaucratic obstruction. Critics suspect that the government is betting unreasonably on the development of domestic vaccines and question that government officials are trying to manipulate the stock prices of certain pharmaceutical companies. President Tsai Ing-wen personally held a press conference in which she responded that the government has conducted an internal investigation, and no politically appointed officials have problems related to stock trading. Specific allegations will be investigated strictly in accordance with the law. However, the efforts behind experts developing vaccines baseless should not be undermined by baseless claims.
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The pro-government writer Lin Wei-feng was caught feigning to be pro-China, posting messages on PTT, a popular online bulletin board system, mocking Taiwan's epidemic prevention policy, and attacking the epidemic prevention platform created by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, thereby creating a fake impression that China is waging a cognitive war against Taiwan.
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In an effort to divert the attention of the public from her administration's poor performance in containing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, President Tsai Ing-wen has recently played the card of "cognitive warfare," but this has unexpectedly exposed a litter of cockroaches within the ruling party’s own house.
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As the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen was preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of her second term, the recent wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections broke out in Taiwan, once acclaimed for being a role model in epidemic prevention.
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May 25: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to spread in Taiwan. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced that the third-level epidemic alert will be extended to June 14. Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung announced that suspension of classes will extend until June 14.
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In just a few days, Taiwan's domestically transmitted cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have reached 2,000 (Note: As of May 22, the number is now over 5,000), and Taiwan's glorious status as a model in epidemic prevention has fallen rapidly.
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