By Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News — 15 May 2021; and J.C. Andrews
The Formosa Club in The Caribbean held its inaugural virtual meeting on Friday 15th May 2021, with nearly 100 members of parliament from five Caribbean nations attending. Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Miguel Li-jey Tsao thanked Caribbean allies for their firm support of Taiwan’s participation in international organisations including the WHO and the UN. Among those present were St. Vincent PM Ralph Gonsalves, Belize House Speaker Valerie Woods, St. Lucia External Affairs Minister Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, and SKN Foreign Minister Mark Brantley.
Separately, Taiwan announced that all schools nationwide would close physically and switch to distance learning from 19–28 May 2021, after the government activated Level 3 epidemic alert nationwide on 19th May. The decision came after triple-digit COVID-19 cases were recorded for the fourth consecutive day. Level 3 rules require masks at all times outdoors, indoor gatherings limited to five persons, and outdoor gatherings to ten. The Ministry of Education stated all schools at all levels — including after-school centres and cram schools — would be closed, with students studying from home.