■ AGRICULTURE
GPV vaccinations set
The Changhua County Government has received 5,600 doses of vaccine against the goat pox virus (GPV) and will soon begin to immunize goats raised on farms throughout the county, the Animal Disease Control Center said. Priority will be given to goats located within 1km of farms where GPV outbreaks have been reported recently, center director Kuo Chou-che (郭丑哲) said. More than 3,000 goats on 28 farms have been slaughtered since the first cases of pox were confirmed, but this has not stopped the spread of the virus, said Tung Meng-chih (董孟治), secretary-general of the center. The center and experts in the field have decided that all goats nationwide should be vaccinated against the virus, Tung said. The vaccination program should be completed by the middle of next month and hopefully the outbreak will be brought under control by the end of the month, he said.
■ POLITICS
Chen rules out tax hikes
Kaohsiung City Government yesterday dismissed media speculation that it plans to tax hot spring businesses in Kaohsiung County after the city completes its merger with the county in December. City Finance Bureau Director-General Lei Chung-dar (雷仲達) told reporters that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) did not intend to levy new taxes or charge residents of the city new mandatory fees. “The city government absolutely does not have any plans to levy a hot spring tax, particularly because the county’s hot springs are mostly located in areas traumatized by the flooding in August last year and remain under reconstruction,” Lei said. Chu plans to improve the city’s finances by stimulating local businesses and fighting for more administrative funding from the central government, Lei said.
■ TOURISM
More bus routes for tourists
The Tourism Bureau said it is pushing for the launch of 11 new tour bus routes next month. While most existing tour bus routes are in western Taiwan, six of the new routes will be on the east coast, including one to Taroko Gorge, the bureau said. Ten routes were launched in April to popular attractions such as Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), Alishan and Kenting (墾丁), it said. The tour buses link major tourist attractions with train and high speed rail stations so travelers can enjoy a seamless connection, the bureau said. At least one large tour bus is dispatched every hour on each route during operating hours. The bureau said it hoped the increase in bus routes would also encourage people to take public transport instead of their cars, thereby easing traffic congestion during holidays.
■ CRIME
Taiwanese killed in US
A Taiwanese father and son were killed when they fought back against gunmen robbing their supermarket in Washington, Representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said on Thursday. Taoyuan County-born Chih Ming-kun (池明坤) and his son Chih Li-jen (池立仁), were shot dead. The robbery occurred at 2:30pm on Thursday at the Chih family’s Lida Wholesales. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier arrived at the scene to oversee the investigation, the Central News Agency reported yesterday. Yuan said the police department would provide grief counseling and consolation funds for the families of the victims. Taiwan’s representative office urged the police to arrest the gunmen as soon as possible.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
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