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One of the top stories from this past week was Friday night’s terror attacks in Paris, which left at least 129 people dead, and an estimated 350 people injured.
On Saturday morning, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou condemned the violence and offered his condolences to the families of the victims. He said that Taiwan stands with France in condemning terrorism.
The foreign ministry called on Taiwanese nationals to avoid all unnecessary travel to Paris following the attacks.
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Also this past week, the total number of dengue fever cases in the ongoing outbreak in southern Taiwan has surpassed 30,000, with the death toll rising above 150.
The outbreak remains contained to the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, with sporadic cases emerging in nearby Pingtung County.
Friday’s figures show that while the outbreak is losing momentum in Tainan, it is continuing at full strength in Kaohsiung, which has seen about a third of the total cases.
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And finally, this past week, Taiwan’s leading epidemiologist Chen Chien-jen has been tipped to become the opposition Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) vice presidential candidate.
The head of DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s campaign office confirmed the news on Saturday, although Tsai is not expected to make an official announcement until next week.
According to local media reports, Chen Chien-jen has been hand-picked by Tsai, partly because of his respected academic career and partly because he poses no threat to aspiring DPP politicians. That’s because he has little connection with political circles and is unlikely to become Tsai’s successor.
Chen Chien-jen was appointed health minister in 2003. He played a crucial role in helping contain the outbreak of SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome.