The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday rushed to disinfect a compound housing several countries’ embassies in Taipei City’s Tianmu (天母) area after the son of the Guatemalan ambassador contracted the A(H1N1) virus, also known as swine flu.
The son of Guatemalan Ambassador Hector Ivan Espinoza Farfan was on Sunday confirmed to have contracted the H1N1 virus, after which the Guatemalan embassy notified local authorities, the ministry said.
“Upon learning the news, the foreign ministry immediately informed the other embassies and a representative office located in the same compound to take all necessary health precautions,” ministry deputy spokesman James Chang (章計平) said.
Chang said the ambassador’s son had contracted a mild case of the flu and was recovering at home.
The compound houses 17 embassies and one foreign representative office, the official residency of the Jordanian representative, as well as the offices of the International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF).
The compound, including the main building, was sterilized in June when an ICDF staffer was confirmed to have contracted the flu after returning from a 17-day business trip to Central America.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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