AGRICULTURE
More ducks infected
About 10,800 broiler ducks in two farms in Yunlin County’s Dounan Township (斗南) yesterday were found to have been infected with a new strain of avian influenza virus, the H5N2. Although the ducks were healthy, precautionary culls are to be conducted shortly. The two farms were outdoor facilities and were within a 1km radius of two farms in the township where 8,900 ducks were culled on Tuesday after contracting bird flu. Migrant birds were presumed to be the source of infection, which could not be immediately controlled as it is the migration season. In case of a large outbreak, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine would work with the Ministry of National Defense and the Environmental Protection Administration to disinfect affected areas, and transport and incinerate animal bodies to contain the disease.
SOCIETY
Taiwanese win cake contest
Two contestants from Taiwan bagged the top prize at this year’s iba-UIBC-CUP “confectioners” category competition held on Wednesday and Thursday in Munich, Germany. Peng Hao (彭浩) and Yang Chia-ming (楊嘉明) won the title after beating competitors from Germany, Norway and South Korea. The competition is held every three years by iba, the world’s leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery and snacks. The theme of this year’s competition was “Circus.” The participants were required to produce a decorative piece from sugar, chocolate, marzipan and nougat — or a combination of these ingredients — three different petits fours, three different pralines, two figurines and a national specialty in which a cake is integrated.
URBAN RENEWAL
‘Taipei vision hall’ planned
The old Taipei city council building is to be demolished and rebuilt as a “Taipei vision hall,” the city government said yesterday. The demolition is to begin on Nov. 24 and to be completed on Feb. 9, Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) said. The building, which covers more than 13,000 ping (42,965m2) at the intersection of Zhongshan S Road and Zhongxiao W Road, was built in 1970. It was used as the office of the Taipei City Police Department’s Zhongzheng First Precinct after the city council moved to its new building on Renai Road in 1990. The building has lain idle since the Zhongzheng First Precinct moved out in 2007 and it was declared abandoned in 2009. Lin said the city government is planning to reserve about 5,000 ping of the space for conversion into a “Taipei vision hall” that is to be used to showcase the history of the city council. Another 2,000 ping is to be used as the headquarters of various non-government organizations.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Nuclear safety drill planned
The Atomic Energy Council is to hold the nation’s largest nuclear safety drill in areas surrounding Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) on Monday. The three-day compounded nuclear disaster drill is to see about 6,000 personnel, including civilians and armed forces, take part in the evacuation and disaster management program that covers areas within a 8km radius from the power plant. The scenario of the drill is to be based on the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant crisis in 2011 by simulating a power outage and shortage of water supply during a nuclear disaster. Residents are to seek shelter at schools and gymnasiums, while patients are to be transported to Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Radioactivity tests are also to be conducted on local produce and water sources.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods