The Council of Agriculture yesterday issued a warning against smuggling birds infected with avian flu into the country from China, and urged the public to report any suspected violations.
The alert came after media reports that some Taiwanese professors have planned to sneak in diseased birds from China in order to help develop a flu vaccine.
"Such specimens could spread the bird flu virus and pose a high risk to the health of birds, other animals and humans in Taiwan," said Yeh Ying (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
According to Chinese-language media reports, professors in veterinary departments at some universities have collected specimens of the avian flu virus in China and plan to bring them into Taiwan for testing.
The bureau cautioned that people should not bring any plants, animals or specimens into the country without permission.
Such smugglers may be pro-secuted for violating the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases (
Yeh said the council hasn't received any report of suspected violations, but will keep in close contacts with universities, and include academics who often traveled to China on its watch list.
The council also set up a special direct phone line for people to report suspected violations at 0800-039131.
Officials of Taiwan's Center for Disease Control also announced that Chen Hsi (
He was first detained on Oct. 14.
The man shows no sign of having the bird flu himself, but is being given the drug Tamiflu as a precaution, officials from the center said.
Meanwhile, birdwatching societies in Taipei City yesterday called on the public not to fear birdwatching activities, stressing that the activity is safe.
No contact
"Birdwatching doesn't mean being close to wild birds or touching them," said Liu Hsin-bai (劉新白), general director of Wild Bird Society of Taipei (WBST).
"Birdwatchers actually keep dozens of meters away from birds, and they usually serve as front-line monitors for signs of any suspicious sickness of birds," Liu said.
According to Liu, birdwatching societies in several counties have been working with the council since 1997 to monitor the activities of migratory birds and take samples of droppings. There hasn't been any bird flu virus found in wild birds so far.
Lin Hsian-wen (
The human deaths from bird flu that have occured in Southeast Asia were a result of people coming into close daily contact with infected poultry within the confines of poultry farms. The risk to human health from wild birds carrying avian influenza is very low, Lin said.
Festival to go ahead
Neither the council nor the Taipei City Government have thus far discouraged outdoor birdwatching activities.
According to the Taipei City Department of Information, the city government will still hold the "2005 Guandu International Birdwatching Festival" beginning Nov. 12 and it is encouraging people to join the event.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS