Premier Su Tseng-chang on Tuesday urged the public to remain calm and not panic after Taiwan reported the first confirmed case of a new type of coronavirus earlier in the day, carried by a Taiwanese woman who was recently in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. On his Facebook page, Su said Taiwan has 44 million surgery masks and 1.93 million N95 particulate respirator masks that will be released onto the market if necessary. "Please don't panic," Su said. "Also please don't hoard masks."

A central epidemics command center was set up Jan. 20 by Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare in readiness to manage possible local cases of pneumonia stemming from a new coronavirus.

A dozen students from three Taiwan senior high schools are visiting Indonesia and New Zealand Jan. 30 to Feb. 10 as part of the Teen Diplomatic Envoys program organized by the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien met with Marshall Islands President David Kabua on Monday after attending his inauguration to reaffirm their shared values and deepen bilateral relations. Hsu met with Kabua after the inauguration, which was attended by more than 300 foreign and local dignitaries, and personally conveyed Taiwan's congratulations to the new leader, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement.

Taiwan's foreign ministry on Sunday pushed back against a joint statement between Beijing and Myanmar that said Taiwan was undisputedly part of China's territory. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) solemnly protests the joint statement issued by China and Myanmar on January 18, in which Myanmar reaffirmed the so called 'one-China principle' and categorized Taiwan as an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China's territory," MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou said in a statement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the European Parliament Jan. 16 for the passage of resolutions reaffirming support for Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation Jan. 12 for messages of congratulations and support from the country’s diplomatic allies and like-minded partners including the U.S., Japan and EU following the 2020 presidential and legislative elections.

At the Cabinet’s weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Su Tseng-chang said that the government’s agricultural policies over the past three-plus years to improve the well-being of farm workers, establish a robust environment, and boost agricultural competiveness have yielded impressive results.

Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung says that this year’s Lunar New Year travel rush will bring with it a heightened risk of African swine fever reaching Taiwan. That’s because the disease has spread widely in the past year, hitting eleven countries in Asia.

An international media event on Taiwan’s upcoming presidential and legislative elections was hosted by Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu Jan. 9 in Taipei City.