The New Taipei City Government said its police would be sharing intelligence with the Coast Guard Administration to prevent smuggling ships from breaching the nation’s COVID-19 defenses.
Singapore’s experience with the COVID-19 pandemic showed that controlling the movement of people between fish markets and fishing vessels is an important part of properly containing the virus, New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Jun-chiu (陳潤秋) said on Wednesday.
Measures that would effectively control local clusters should they occur must be stepped up, he said.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said that the city has 28 fishing ports and 145km of coastline, which could be weak spots if smugglers and foreign laborers make it ashore and spread COVID-19.
Recent smuggling cases in Wanli (萬里) and Rueifang (瑞芳) districts are concerning, he said, adding that more effort must be put into preventing similar incidents.
If a ship is caught smuggling and its crew have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the Fisheries Agency should revoke their license and permit, Hou said.
District offices should work closely with local police precincts, Department of Agriculture branches and fire departments, and act on intelligence provided by the coast guard, Hou said.
Everyone must strive to uphold a solid, unbroken defense against the pandemic along the coast, he said, adding that fishers’ boats should be randomly inspected to minimize the chances of smugglers entering the municipality.
The small space on the boats, along with their sub-standard living conditions, means there is a high risk of COVID-19 spreading among the crew, he said, instructing the Department of Agriculture to step up its screening of fishers.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS