Rats Frequently Spotted in Taipei; Chiang Wan-an: Planning Overall Urban Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection
Following frequent reports of rats in Taipei, Mayor Chiang Wan-an announced plans for comprehensive environmental cleaning and disinfection across the urban area. Although calls to the citizen hotline have decreased, the city government is not taking the issue lightly and will intensify measures.
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- 📰 Published: May 2, 2026 at 12:56
- 🔍 Collected: May 2, 2026 at 13:01 (5 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 2, 2026 at 14:37 (1h 36m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Liu Chien-pang, Taipei, 2nd) Many citizens have recently reported frequent sightings of rats in Taipei's streets. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an stated today that the Taipei City Government has discussed this in inter-agency meetings and has been conducting planned overall environmental cleaning since the beginning of this year. Subsequent overall urban environmental cleaning and disinfection will proceed according to the current plan.
Chiang Wan-an, before distributing carnations with Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Po-yi at Jingmei Market this morning, told the media that while calls to the 1999 citizen hotline show a downward trend, the Taipei City Government will never take it lightly. Departments including the Environmental Protection Department, Health Department, Civil Affairs Department, Market Administration Office, and Commercial Office will carry out overall environmental cleaning and disinfection according to the current plan.
Regarding Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Shen Po-yang's suggestion that popular rat control methods in other countries do not directly kill rats but rather disrupt their reproductive hormones, Chiang Wan-an said the Environmental Protection Department has explained that currently, centrally approved environmental pesticides are used. Of course, all options, 'including this one,' were discussed in inter-agency meetings, but expert opinions must still be respected.
In addition, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun pointed out that rat poison had been placed in the linear park between MRT Shuanglian Station and Zhongshan Station, raising concerns about children and pets accidentally ingesting it.
Chiang Wan-an stated that the city will continue comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of all markets, commercial districts, and restaurants. He emphasized that it's not just about placing poison, but more importantly about environmental cleanliness. He once again called on all citizens to uphold the principles of 'don't feed rats, don't attract rats, don't house rats' to collectively maintain environmental hygiene.
Lee Po-yi said that if rats increase in the city, all administrative officials bear the greatest responsibility, and a rat infestation will absolutely not be tolerated. However, he honestly stated that he has not seen an unusually large number of rats in Taipei currently. Since citizens have reported it, the Taipei City Government should take responsibility to eliminate the rat problem as soon as possible, so as not to disturb citizens' lives and children's safety. (Editor: Li Ming-tsung) 1150502
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(Central News Agency reporter Liu Chien-pang, Taipei, 2nd) Many citizens have recently reported frequent sightings of rats in Taipei's streets. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an stated today that the Taipei City Government has discussed this in inter-agency meetings and has been conducting planned overall environmental cleaning since the beginning of this year. Subsequent overall urban environmental cleaning and disinfection will proceed according to the current plan.
Chiang Wan-an, before distributing carnations with Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lee Po-yi at Jingmei Market this morning, told the media that while calls to the 1999 citizen hotline show a downward trend, the Taipei City Government will never take it lightly. Departments including the Environmental Protection Department, Health Department, Civil Affairs Department, Market Administration Office, and Commercial Office will carry out overall environmental cleaning and disinfection according to the current plan.
Regarding Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Shen Po-yang's suggestion that popular rat control methods in other countries do not directly kill rats but rather disrupt their reproductive hormones, Chiang Wan-an said the Environmental Protection Department has explained that currently, centrally approved environmental pesticides are used. Of course, all options, 'including this one,' were discussed in inter-agency meetings, but expert opinions must still be respected.
In addition, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun pointed out that rat poison had been placed in the linear park between MRT Shuanglian Station and Zhongshan Station, raising concerns about children and pets accidentally ingesting it.
Chiang Wan-an stated that the city will continue comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of all markets, commercial districts, and restaurants. He emphasized that it's not just about placing poison, but more importantly about environmental cleanliness. He once again called on all citizens to uphold the principles of 'don't feed rats, don't attract rats, don't house rats' to collectively maintain environmental hygiene.
Lee Po-yi said that if rats increase in the city, all administrative officials bear the greatest responsibility, and a rat infestation will absolutely not be tolerated. However, he honestly stated that he has not seen an unusually large number of rats in Taipei currently. Since citizens have reported it, the Taipei City Government should take responsibility to eliminate the rat problem as soon as possible, so as not to disturb citizens' lives and children's safety. (Editor: Li Ming-tsung) 1150502
Stand with facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.
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Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.