The National Red Fire Ant Control Center officially started operations yesterday. Agriculture Minister Lee Ching-lung (李金龍) said that the situation has been brought under control and that the ants would be eradicated within three years.
At the center's opening ceremony in Taipei yesterday, Lee said that 21 townships and 49 schools have been affected by the invasion of South American red fire ants, which have appeared in both agricultural and urban areas.
"The government is ready to distribute 20,000kg of chemicals to fight the red fire ants. People should be smart enough not to turn over the soil in affected agricultural areas, because it might worsen the invasion," Lee said.
The center integrated epidemic control units at all levels to effectively handle the problem, and the Council of Agriculture will provide the center with resources to eradicate the species in Taiwan within three years, Lee said.
Taiwan is the fourth country to be invaded by the aggressive ant species. The fire ant is a serious pest which has invaded the US, New Zealand and Australia.
Lee said yesterday that he appreciated the idea of freezing the ants in liquid nitrogen, which was recently proposed by scientists at the Academia Sinica.
The center, headed by Yang Ping-shih (楊平世), a professor of entomology at National Taiwan University, will first adopt methods that have been used in the US and Australia. According to Yang, the species has troubled the US for more than seven decades, and Australia for three years.
Taoyuan, Taipei and Chiayi counties have been worst hit. Officials said yesterday that techniques to stamp out the ants will be demonstrated soon on the campus of National Taipei University in Sansia, Taipei County, to train more workers. Similar workshops have already been held in two seriously affected townships in Chiayi County.
Council of Agriculture officials said color codes will be established to classify the seriousness of the ant problem across the nation, with red indicating the ants have been discovered but no action has been taken; yellow indicating that ants are currently being exterminated; and green indicating that the ants have been eliminated.
Officials stressed yesterday that the seriousness of the ant invasion should not be ignored. The ants last month devastated electric cables supplying the reservoir at Shihmen Dam in Taoyuan County.
At the opening ceremony, Ketagalan Academy president Lee Hung-hsi (
"We've successfully halted the spread of SARS. Now it's just another chance for Taiwan to demonstrate its achievement of biological control," Lee Hung-hsi said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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