Taiwan sees first local COVID cases since February
Taiwan saw its first local COVID-19 case in over two months after a teenager tested positive on April 23. Since the, four more local cases have been confirmed as of Wednesday, April 28.
The teenager is the son of an Indonesian China Airlines pilot who also tested positive along with one of his colleagues. These two pilots are among at least nine China Airlines pilots to test positive over the past week. The health body is investigating where they were infected, which would confirm whether they are also local cases. Three of the other four local cases are also family members of the infected pilots.
The US is concerned about Taiwan’s national defence weaknesses such as the reduction of its military within the last three years and its stagnating military spending in comparison to China, reports the Wall Street Journal.
A Chinese military plane flew at 100 feet into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Monday, April 26. This was the lowest altitude recorded for a Chinese plane flying into Taiwan’s ADIZ and was presumably done to test Taiwan’s radar coverage at low altitudes. The plane was one of two that flew into Taiwan’s ADIZ that day.
Rather than attempt an invasion, China could possibly blockade Taiwan by sea over a long period of time, argues this writer in the National Interest.
Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast has been raised to over 5 percent by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER).
Exports still have room to grow in the upcoming months, according to a forecast from the National Development Council.
DPP Legislator Lai Pin-yu, who campaigned in full cosplay mode during the last electoral campaign, is profiled by Vice.
The government is planning to increase child subsidies for parents in an attempt to boost Taiwan’s declining birthrate.
In a very shocking case of child abuse, a seven-year-old boy is almost brain-dead after he was thrown 27 times by a judo instructor. The instructor threw the boy repeatedly allegedly to demonstrate a shoulder throw.