PUBLIC HEALTH
Ducks at two farms culled
About 1,000 ducks at a farm in Tainan’s Siaying District (下營) and a farm in Chiayi County’s Puzih City (朴子) were culled yesterday after they were found to be infected with unspecified strains of H5 avian influenza. Mass duck deaths were reported at the two farms, with about 500 of 1,800 breeder ducks at the Tainan farm and about 1,000 of 1,200 broiler ducks at the Chiayi farm found dead within a period of a few days. Authorities said they took samples from facilities surrounding the affected farms and found no further signs of infection. Migratory birds were presumed to be the source of the infection, the authorities said, adding that the two cases were separate and that the public should not be alarmed.
TOURISM
Contest highlights islands
Four foreign countries are jointly promoting tours to some of their island territories through a video competition for Taiwanese travelers, the tourism bureaus of the countries said yesterday. The winner of the competition is to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Philippines’ Coron Island, the US-owned island of Tinian, Malaysia’s Tioman Island and Thailand’s Koh Chang, the bureaus said. Taiwanese are invited to submit a 30-second video introducing themselves and highlighting their travel experiences and dreams. The deadline for the opening round of the competition is Sept. 25, after which a committee comprised of representatives of the four countries are to select 12 semi-finalists and publish their videos online by Oct. 31. Five finalists are to then be selected by an online public vote and are to appear before the committee, which is to pick a winner on Nov. 9. The winner will be required to complete the tour before a specified date and to submit travel videos for publication by the four tourism bureaus. Further information is available at www.mymarianas.com.
CRIME
Man with cleavers arrested
A man who was seen standing in the middle of the street outside the Presidential Office Building was detained after he was found to be carrying two cleavers, the Taipei Police Department said yesterday. The police said the man, surnamed Yeh (葉), was standing in the middle of Ketagalan Boulevard when a policeman asked him what he was doing. The man, said to be in his late 40s, answered that he was in a bad mood, because he did not even have enough money to get a meal, according to the Zhongzheng First Precinct. When Yeh was taken to the police station for further questioning, police discovered he was carrying two cleavers. The police have asked Yeh’s family to go to the police station to help clarify the situation.
TRAVEL
Nepal travel alert lowered
Taiwan yesterday lowered its travel alert for Nepal from red to orange, the second-highest in its four-color alert system, as recovery continues in the Himalayan country following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated large swathes of the country in April. Although Nepal has begun reconstruction efforts, important infrastructure such as transportation, potable water, medical institutions and telecommunications networks have not been restored, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the slow reconstruction progress in the country, which is still experiencing aftershocks. The ministry urged Taiwanese to avoid unnecessary visits to Nepal in the short term.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
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