The first round of African swine fever inspections at hog farms nationwide has found no abnormalities, and the first phase of containment has successfully prevented the outbreak from spreading, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) said today.
“We can relax a bit, but we cannot let our guard down,” said Tu, who is leading the African swine fever response unit that was established after Taiwan’s first African swine fever case was detected in Taichung on Tuesday last week.
Taiwan still has only one confirmed case of the disease, she told a news conference at the Taichung branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency this morning.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
The unit has launched a targeted epidemiological investigation to identify any gaps in prevention efforts, it said.
Officials have also confirmed that all 78 pigs at the contaminated farm have been accounted for, and it is investigating potential violations at the facility, including failure to report kitchen waste disposal and the owner’s decision to medicate sick pigs after seeking telephone advice from an unlicensed veterinarian, the unit said.
It advised pig farmers to thoroughly disinfect facilities, strengthen controls on personnel and vehicle movement and make every effort to contain the virus.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
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