TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — During preparations to transport Taiwanese evacuees from Wuhan on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 10 and 11), Chinese authorities refused Taiwan's request that the passengers on a China Eastern Airlines jet be provided protective clothing, and 30 last-minute applicants were turned away.

The odyssey of the two charter jets selected to evacuate a total of 361 Taiwanese nationals out of Wuhan is a study in contrasts. After over a month of tense cross-strait negotiations, including a dispute over which country's airlines would carry out the evacuations, the two sides came to a compromise in which there would be two flights, with one flight by Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) and another by China Eastern Airlines (CEA).

On the flight operated by CAL, Taiwan followed the strict protocols of the "Yokohama model" established during the evacuation of Taiwanese travelers from the ill-fated Diamond Princess. Each passenger was not only provided a face mask and protective clothing but was also carefully placed at a specific distance from others.

However, when Taiwanese authorities requested that passengers boarding the CEA jet also be provided protective clothing, Chinese officials insisted that there was "no need" for such gear and that face masks were sufficient, reported the Liberty Times. In addition, finding that there were still some empty seats on the plane, Chinese officials tried to add 30 more passengers at the last minute who were not on the finalized list of evacuees.



Evacuees disembarking from CAL jet. (CNA photo)

The conflicting standards of epidemic control and the proposal to add 30 more passengers at the last minute led to a standoff that lasted for hours, according to the report. In the end, the 30 additional passengers were turned away, and Chinese officials finally relented and allowed the Taiwanese to don plastic coveralls.

Some evacuees said that Chinese officials prohibited them from wearing protective garb they had obtained on their own. Yet, when they arrived at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport they found that all the Chinese staff manning the CEA charter jet were wearing a full set of protective gear, giving passengers the feeling that the Chinese were deliberately providing them with inferior treatment.

Fortunately, after three to four hours of negotiations, Chinese officials finally allowed the passengers to don protective suits and board the plane. One source told the Liberty Times that this showed that the principle of protecting public health through epidemic prevention still won out in the end through communication.



Taiwanese evacuees from Wuhan riding tour bus to quarantine facility. (CNA photo)

The CAL flight was originally scheduled to arrive at 7:45 p.m., but as the plane was towed onto the taxiway at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, two passengers were found to have fevers, forcing the plane to be taken back to the gate. Among the passengers with a fever was a woman, who disembarked from the plane along with her husband and son, according to the report.

Health and Welfare Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Wednesday said that some registered passengers did not show up, while others refused to undergo health examinations. He added that there was one case of a man who had a fever and was not allowed to board the plane.

"We are worried about this gentleman," Chen said. "We are worried about whether or not he will be sent to a hospital." After watching the conditions of Chinese hospitals on TV, "I am worried about whether he will receive proper care and receive treatment while in isolation," he added.