Month: February 2026

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (February 5) announced that the monthly gravidtrap index for Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in January was 0.1 per cent, lower than the 0.2 per cent recorded in December 2025, which remained at the lowest Level 1, indicating that the distribution of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in the areas surveyed was not extensive.

     In January, all 62 survey areas recorded an area gravidtrap index (AGI) lower than the alert level of 20 per cent, and most of the areas recorded 0 per cent. Moreover, the monthly density index for Aedes albopictus in January was 1, which represented that an average of one Aedes albopictus adult was found in the Aedes-positive gravidtraps, indicating that the number of adult Aedes albopictus was not abundant in the survey areas. The gravidtrap and density indices for Aedes albopictus in different survey areas as well as information on mosquito prevention and control measures are available on the department website at www.fehd.gov.hk

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Taiwan-Japan Fishery Committee holds successful 12th meeting

Date：2026-01-30
Data Source：TAIWAN-JAPAN RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

January 30, 2026No. 038The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association convened the 12th meeting of the Taiwan-Japan Fishery Committee in Yilan from January 27 to 29. The alternating responsibility for organizing and hosting the meeting on this occasion fell to Taiwan. Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Lin Yu-hui led Taiwan’s delegation, with Director-General Wang Mao-chen of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency serving as lead negotiator. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ocean Affairs Council’s Coast Guard Administration and relevant local fishers’ associations.During the meeting, the two parties affirmed the success of regulations implemented in 2025 for fishing vessels operating in a triangular area of water north of Japan’s Yaeyama Islands and reached consensus on operational rules for 2026. The sides also agreed to further revise self-regulatory covenants, to provide educational guidance to fishers prior to the start of the fishing season, and to avoid allowing fishing gear to drift into areas east of longitude 124°02′ E. Taiwan also requested that Japan commence consultations with Taiwan as soon as possible on other issues related to fishing operations in overlapping economic zones.Taiwan and Japan signed the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement on April 10, 2013, resolving long-standing fisheries disputes in a peaceful and rational manner. The Taiwan-Japan Fishery Committee was established in accordance with the agreement, with Taiwan and Japan taking turns to hold committee meetings once a year. The gatherings serve as an important dialogue platform, allowing the two sides to define a framework for fisheries operations and manage fisheries-related issues. (E)

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to false claims regarding Taiwan in joint statement between PRC and Uruguay

February 4, 2026  
 
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi on February 3. Following the meeting, China and Uruguay issued a joint statement which blatantly ignored objective reality and contained statements that gravely distorted the facts, including claiming that Taiwan was an inalienable part of China’s territory. 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) solemnly protests and condemns the Chinese government’s repeated dissemination of malicious rhetoric in the international community and its efforts to denigrate Taiwan’s sovereignty. MOFA also expresses deep regret over the Uruguayan government’s subservience to China and alignment with its political position.
 
MOFA reiterates that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent country; that neither the ROC (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is subordinate to the other; and that the PRC has never governed Taiwan. Any attempt to distort Taiwan’s sovereign status or claim sovereignty over Taiwan based on false narratives is erroneous and unacceptable. China continues to use threats, enticements, and rhetorical manipulation to spread disinformation at international events. This not only seriously challenges the world order and peace, it also clearly underscores the malignant nature of China’s authoritarian interference in the affairs of other nations. Countries everywhere should pay close heed.
 
MOFA calls on the government of Uruguay to recognize the true intentions behind China’s global expansion of influence, to stop being complicit in China’s disregard for the facts, and to refrain from endorsing its intentionally aggressive statements that seek to undermine regional peace and stability. MOFA urges Uruguay to adopt a pragmatic and open attitude and work with Taiwan and other democratic nations in jointly safeguarding peace, stability, and prosperity worldwide.
 
Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to the people of Taiwan, and only they can decide Taiwan’s future. As a force for good, Taiwan will continue to defend freedom and democracy and strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries so as to staunchly protect national sovereignty, counter authoritarian expansionism, uphold shared values, and contribute even more to the international community.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Health Bureau today welcomed the Office of The Ombudsman’s direct investigation operation report on the effectiveness of administrative support provided for complaint handling by the Secretariat of Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) under the Department of Health (DH), and the department’s regulatory role.

The DH said the Government accepts and will actively follow up on the recommendations in the report, striving to assist the MCHK to optimise its complaint-handling mechanism, enhance operational efficiency, and improve service quality.

In its report published today, the Ombudsman expressed concerns about the MCHK’s current mechanism and the progress in complaint handling, and put forward a number of recommendations for improvement, some of which will involve legislative amendments.

The Health Bureau had previously indicated that it would propose amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance in response to the report submitted by the MCHK and its operational needs in order to ensure that the mechanism keeps pace with the times and meets the needs of society.

The bureau today added that it will formulate detailed proposals to amend the ordinance with reference to the Ombudsman’s views and its report.

The bureau outlined that the amendment aims to enable the MCHK and its secretariat to discharge their duties of upholding doctors’ professional conduct and continuously enhance medical professional standards more effectively under the principle of professional autonomy.

The Legislative Council’s Panel on Health Services will be briefed by the bureau shortly on the proposed directions and enhancement proposals for the ordinance, with a target of introducing an amendment bill into LegCo in the first half of this year.

As to other recommendations made by the Ombudsman concerning the administrative arrangements of the MCHK and its secretariat, the DH said it will invite the MCHK to review and refine the existing arrangements based on the recommendations.

The department added that it will strengthen communication with the MCHK regarding the secretariat’s overall performance of administrative support, staffing and resource requirements, as well as secretariat staff’s performance management to enhance its operational efficiency.

The DH stressed that the medical profession in Hong Kong has all along upheld the principle of professional autonomy.

It noted that the Government will assist the MCHK in discharging its statutory duties through legislative amendments, and other administrative and resource support, thereby further enhancing the professional standards and conduct of doctors to safeguard the interest of the public and patients.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki this afternoon chaired the sixth-term Commission on Poverty’s fifth meeting, during which members were briefed by a university research team on the impacts of various Targeted Poverty Alleviation Schemes.

Members were pleased to learn that the Strive & Rise Programme, the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room and the School-based After School Care Service Scheme have all met key performance indicator targets, and even exceeded some of these.

They also heard about the schemes’ positive impacts on service beneficiaries’ living standards and personal development, and how they affirm the effectiveness of current poverty alleviation schemes.

The research team’s findings will be incorporated into a proposed “Report on Impact of Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy in Hong Kong”.

The report will also quantify the social value transferred to households that benefit from housing, health, education and welfare measures. This analysis will seek to reflect, comprehensively, the Government’s effectiveness in alleviating poverty.

The Government aims to release the report some time in the middle of this year.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

January 27, 2026  
No. 035  
 
On behalf of the government of Taiwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a luncheon on January 27 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to warmly welcome Paraguayan Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare María Teresa Barán and Director General of International Relations Adriana Amarilla.
 
Minister Lin began by welcoming Minister Barán back to Taiwan. He recalled that when he led a delegation to Paraguay in July 2025, he and Minister Barán witnessed a number of Taiwan-Paraguay joint health care cooperation projects, including a health information system under the Health Information Management Efficiency Enhancement Project—built by Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and Cathay General Hospital—and the General Hospital of Asunción construction project. Minister Lin pointed out that these initiatives had received strong support and recognition from Paraguayan President Santiago Peña. 
 
Noting that Minister Barán had long been a staunch advocate for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, he sincerely thanked her on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan. He stated that he looked forward to steadily deepening bilateral cooperation and bringing smart medicine and health industries to Paraguay for the benefit of local people and the advancement of industrial upgrading and transformation.
 
Minister Barán expressed appreciation to Taiwan for assistance with the health information system project, which was launched in 2017 and had been implemented in 1,188 health care facilities in Paraguay, marking an important milestone in Taiwan-Paraguay health care cooperation. She also expressed hope that the General Hospital of Asunción, once operational, would become the new benchmark for quality health care services in Paraguay. Minister Barán underscored that Taiwan had played an indispensable role in the history of health care development in Paraguay and that it was a key contributor to the global public health system. She reiterated that Paraguay would continue to staunchly speak up for Taiwan and back its participation in the international community.
 
At the invitation of Minister Lin, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi, Superintendent of Cathay General Hospital Chien Chih-cheng, Deputy Secretary General of TaiwanICDF Stephen J. H. Lee, and representatives from Taiwan’s smart medicine and health care industries were also present at the event. They exchanged views with the delegation on a broad range of issues, including AI-driven medical data analytics and telemedicine, and discussed future directions for linking the health care industries of the two countries.
 
The members of the delegation are visiting from January 26 to 30, during which time they hope to further their understanding of the latest developments in public health, medicine, and social welfare in Taiwan. In addition to calling at MOFA, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, TaiwanICDF, and other organizations, the delegation will tour the facilities of National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, E-Da Hospital, Taipei Zhongshan Seniors Housing and Service Center, and Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, opening a new chapter in health care exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay. (E)

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Health Bureau said today that as of Tuesday, 77 of the 79 patients admitted to Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals following November’s fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had recovered and been discharged, while the remaining four were in a stable condition.

All individuals injured in the fire and admitted to public hospitals are entitled to receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services throughout the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation.

Moreover, all residents of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court, including foreign domestic helpers, are eligible for full medical fee waivers until December 31 of this year. As of Tuesday, the HA had provided such services to around 2,000 affected residents.

District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses across all of the city’s 18 districts are operating hotlines to provide personalised case management services for affected residents. As of Tuesday, the hotlines had received 386 enquiries.

Regarding mental health services, the bureau said that from the time of the Tai Po blaze to February 3, the 18111 Mental Health Support Hotline had received over 22,200 calls, around 760 of which were related to the fire. An associated WhatsApp service has handled over 1,000 messages, with about 50 of these concerning the fire.

In addition, the HA’s 24-hour Mental Health Direct hotline had received 109 calls related to the blaze, with 47 of these coming from affected citizens.