No barriers for Taiwan to access epidemic information: mainland spokesperson

BEIJING - There have been no barriers for Taiwan in accessing information about the novel coronavirus outbreak, a mainland official said Tuesday.

The mainland has kept Taiwan updated on the epidemic and immediately shared information about Taiwan compatriots who are confirmed to have been infected with the virus on the mainland, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, in response to questions related to Taiwan and the epidemic.

The mainland has specifically notified Taiwan of the information related to sharing the virus' genome sequence with the World Health Organization, and of means to obtain it, Ma said.

The mainland has also arranged Taiwan experts to visit Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and stepped up communication.

"We are always concerned with the health and wellbeing of our compatriots in Taiwan," Ma said.

Epidemic prevention is the most important and urgent task at the moment, said Ma, urging Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority to stop all political manipulation using the epidemic as an excuse.