The Central Epidemic Command Center is to refocus its efforts against the dengue fever epidemic in southern Taiwan from Tainan to Kaohsiung, where more than 400 new cases were reported on Wednesday.
A total of 458 new dengue fever cases were recorded nationwide on Wednesday — 429 of which were reported in Kaohsiung — pushing the total number of cases since May 1 to 35,345, according to the center, which was established in mid-September to tackle the disease.
A three-day campaign to destroy breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit the disease was launched in Kaohsiung on Thursday, the center said.
Neighboring Tainan, which has been hit the hardest in the current outbreak with 22,461 cases since May, has seen the spread of the disease slow for the eighth consecutive week, recording only 17 new cases on Wednesday.
Vice Premier Simon Chang (張善政), who heads the center, instructed the Tourism Bureau to offer Tainan assistance to rebuild its tourism industry, which has suffered as a result of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) and the party’s Kaohsiung city councilors held a press conference in Taipei, in which they urged Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who is also serving as campaign manager for opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), to stop campaigning and focus on running her city.
DPP Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) of Kaohsiung said the Kaohsiung City Government is mobilizing 1,500 people per day to keep the outbreak in check, and accused the KMT politicians of trying to manipulate Tsai’s campaign.
The current epidemic has been the worst since authorities began keeping records, with the total number of cases more than double the previous annual high of 15,732.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
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A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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