The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has ordered the autopsy of the body of a local fishers’ association chairman who died while inspecting a road construction project, the office has said.
Cheng Kang-chung (鄭康忠), 48, who headed the fisher’s association in the city’s Tamshui District (淡水), is suspected to have been bitten by red imported fire ants, a venomous insect native to South America, while inspecting the construction near a fishing port in the city’s Bali District (八里) on June 3.
He died in a local hospital on Friday last week.
Cheng had a chronic condition that required frequent dialysis and had allergies that put him at risk of complications from allergic reactions, the hospital said.
New Taipei City Red Imported Fire Ant Center executive secretary Hung Sheng-hsiung (洪勝雄) on Tuesday said that the center found 10 anthills close to the site were Cheng was conducting the inspection.
The center has sprayed the area with fipronil and pyriproxyfen, Hung said, adding that it would observe the anthills for at least six months to ascertain whether the measure exterminated the ants.
The center has closed off the sites and requested that construction be halted during the observation period, Hung added.
The ants might have become more aggressive due to external factors, such as heavy rain and construction, Hung said.
Over the past few years, New Taipei City has reduced the area of fire ant infestation from 7,000 to 4,000 hectares, he added.
Bali, as well as the city’s Sansia (三峽), Yingge (鶯歌), Tamsui and Shulin (樹林) districts are focus areas of the center’s efforts, he said.
Prosecutors said that Cheng’s family suspects that his death was due to fire ant bites, adding that it hopes that the autopsy would rule out other possibilities, including death due to COVID-19 infection.
Huang Rong-nan (黃榮南), a professor in National Taiwan University’s entomology department, said that fire ant bites rarely lead to death, adding that New Taipei City and Taoyuan residents should be on the lookout as there are fire ant populations in the two cities.
The bites usually cause swellings, Huang said, adding that people who have been bitten by one or two ants usually do not need treatment.
However, people who have been bitten 10 or more times should immediately seek medical attention.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS