On the morning of April 1, President Tsai Ing-wen, accompanied by Premier Su Tseng-chang, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, fielded questions by reporters at the Entrance Hall of the Presidential Office Building. President Tsai said that Taiwan will actively expand collaborations with other countries in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Provided that the needs within Taiwan are met first, the government is willing to aid the international community regarding face masks, drugs and technical know-how.
In terms of global collaboration, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that Taiwan’s containment measures have been well-regarded by the international community. As the pandemic has continue to escalate across nations with the global death toll still rising, Taiwan has not only shared its experience in containing the virus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also prepared to heed the requests for assistance from the international community, provided that containment efforts are not affected in Taiwan.
Minister Wu emphasized that “Taiwan Can Help!” will not be just be merely a slogan but will lead to effective action. He said that there has been much progress recently, such as in collaborative efforts on disease containment technology and that teleconference meetings have been held between experts from the U.S., European Union, the Czech Republic, Canada and Taiwan’s Academia Sinica to explore possible partnerships in COVID-19 testing and drugs, as well as the manufacturing of drugs, vaccines and other biotechnology development projects to deepen multilateral ties. In addition, we have also built partnerships on disease containment, which include a joint framework building effort with the U.S. as well as a partnership in sourcing disease containment equipment and goods with Australia. Taiwan has also started joint development bids for manufacturing testing products, vaccines and drugs with the Czech Republic as well as expanding official exchanges regarding medical equipment and goods.
Regarding the expanding of bailout and relief measures to beyond the NT$1 trillion mark, President Tsai said that Premier Su Tseng-chang had mentioned that preparations are underway for phase-two measures and that the Executive Yuan is finalizing its review and will make a full report to the government and the public. We expect that the combined scale of phase one and two measures to exceed NT$1.05 trillion.
【2020-04-01 / Presidential Office】
