TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese college student studying in the outlying county of Kinmen on Tuesday (Sept. 21) attempted to avoid the COVID-19 testing at Kinmen Shangyi Airport mandated by the county government.
The student, surnamed Su (蘇), who studies at National Quemoy University (NQU), initially refused to undergo a test upon returning after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Su then proceeded to try to leave, but he was stopped by county government officials stationed at the airport who demanded that he comply with the epidemic prevention measure.
As tensions rose between the two uncompromising parties, police officers at the airport chipped in, urging the student to abide by the rule. Su finally complied and took the test.
The university on Tuesday recommended that all students and staff hailing from other parts of the country take the rapid COVID test at airports on the main Taiwanese island before leaving for Kinmen.
Tuesday’s incident is not the first instance of an anti-testing episode at Kinmen Airport. In June, an NQU Department of Nursing instructor and a male passenger traveling with her also refused the rapid test, citing Health Minister Chen Shih-chung’s (陳時中) ban on mandatory rapid COVID testing at airports in the three outlying counties, which include Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, per CNA.
The Kuomintang magistrate of Kinmen is defying the ban, citing a lack of medical resources on the island.
