HEALTH
New bird flu cases confirmed
Two cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus subtype H5N6 infection were yesterday confirmed in Hsinchu and Tainan, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 17 since Feb. 6, when the first case was reported, Council of Agriculture statistics released yesterday showed. The cases involve a chicken that was discarded in Hsinchu’s Hukou Township (湖口) that was confirmed to have contracted the H5N6 virus and a pheasant in Tainan’s Cigu Township (七股) that was confirmed to have been infected with both H5N6 and H5N2. Earlier in the day, the bureau reported three new cases confirmed on Saturday, including one found on a chicken farm in Yunlin County, one on a goose farm in Chiayi County and the other involving ducks at a slaughterhouse in Yilan County. As of yesterday, all bird flu cases have been limited to poultry farms in Tainan and Yunlin, Chiayi, Yilan and Hualien counties. The outbreak has put the authorities on high alert, because the H5N6 virus strain is highly contagious and can be transmitted to humans.
DIPLOMACY
Driver’s license deal signed
Taiwan and the US state of Virginia have signed an agreement to allow licensed drivers from either side to obtain a driver’s license without having to take a road test, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US said on Thursday. Virginia became the 20th US state to enter into a driver’s license agreement with Taiwan. According to the agreement, which took immediate effect, Taiwanese living in Virginia and holding a valid Taiwanese driver’s license will be exempt from the road test when they apply for a license there, the office said. They will be able to obtain a regular, or Class D, driver’s license after passing a written exam and an eye test, it said. Virginia residents holding at least one year’s residency permit in Taiwan will be entitled to the same treatment, it added.
WEATHER
Temperatures to fluctuate
Temperatures across the nation are forecast to rise today before fluctuating for the next few days, with a cold front expected to arrive on Thursday, bringing temperatures in coastal areas down to as low as 12°C with sporadic rainfall, the Central Weather Bureau said. Due to seasonal northeasterly winds losing strength, most of the nation saw partly cloudy to sunny skies yesterday, with occasional showers along the east coast, the bureau said. Humidity is expected to rise today, likely causing fog, with occasional rainfall expected in central and southern Taiwan, it added. Highs can reach between 26°C and 28°C, meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. On Thursday, a weather front followed by a continental cold air mass is expected to arrive and cause temperatures to fall across the nation, Wu said.
TECHNOLOGY
Taiwan ranked No. 2 at expo
A Taiwanese team participating in the Malaysia Technology Expo has won second place, with four gold, six silver, four bronze and two special medals, organizers said on Saturday. One of the two special awards was for a machine from Biyoung Biotechnology Co that filters tap water, making it drinkable, they said. The other was for a device that can check the quality of cooking oil, developed jointly by students from the Taipei American School and the Taipei Fuhsing Private School, they said.
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