Diplomats and foreign representatives in Taipei were briefed Friday on the state of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak in Taiwan and the country's prevention and containment efforts, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The briefing, held at the ministry and hosted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), was attended by diplomats and representatives from nearly 60 countries and international organizations, MOFA said in statement issued late Friday.

During a meeting with Australian Representative to Taiwan Gary Cowan on the morning of March 3, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the Australian government for actively supporting Taiwan's international participation, particularly as we face the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat. Australia has spoken up for Taiwan at both the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board and the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), she said.

On the morning of February 20 President Tsai Ing-wen met with Randall Schriver, Chairman of the Project 2049 Institute and former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.

While meeting with permanent representatives to the United Nations (UN) from Taiwan's diplomatic allies on the morning of February 18, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked our diplomatic allies for speaking up for Taiwan at important events. She emphasized that Taiwan is on the frontline in dealing with the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and should not be excluded from the global epidemic prevention network.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) welcomes the decision made by the government of the Republic of the Philippines on February 14 to immediately lift the travel ban on Taiwanese nationals that was recently imposed in response to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. MOFA thanks all agencies and individuals that provided assistance in bringing about this positive development.

Taiwan is going to participate online in a WHO forum about the 2019 novel coronavirus, set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The WHO has invited over 400 experts from around the world to discuss the outbreak, which has already reached more than two dozen countries.

On the morning of February 10, President Tsai Ing-wen attended the 2020 Intelligent Community Forum Top7 Global Cities Announcement/Conference in Taoyuan. She stated that over the past three-plus years, we have moved steadily toward our goal of becoming a "digital nation and smart island."