Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng told lawmakers Tuesday that Beijing appears to be deleting social media posts about pneumonic plague clusters, reinforcing Taipei’s decision to keep enhanced border screening even though no confirmed cases have reached Taiwan.
Premier Cho Jung-tai, answering questions from Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Ting-yu, said the cabinet is “highly concerned” about online rumors that the disease spread from Russia into multiple Chinese provinces. Cho said health authorities implemented additional quarantine steps two weeks ago after briefing the Executive Yuan.
What health officials know
Health Minister Shih Chung-liang said Taiwan has asked the World Health Organization to clarify the Oct. 2 death of a 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. No pathogen tests have returned positive results, Shih emphasized, so Taipei cannot conclude plague caused the fatality.
Despite the uncertainty, Taiwan maintains fever screening at airports and requires travelers from selected regions to complete health declarations on arrival. Officials have not activated the highest alert tier, which would trigger wider travel notices and hospital surge drills.
Cross-strait information gap
Wang asked whether deleted posts on Sichuan Province forums signal a cover-up. Chiu declined to verify individual threads but said MAC monitors Mandarin-language platforms daily and shares suspicious patterns with the health ministry.
Opposition lawmakers urged the government to publish more granular data to avoid panic buying of masks, which spiked briefly in Taoyuan convenience stores over the weekend. The Centers for Disease Control responded that it will update a public dashboard if laboratory evidence changes.
Next steps
Cabinet spokespeople said any escalation would require both epidemiological proof and consensus from the Central Epidemic Command Center. For now, the posture is vigilance without shutdown: schools remain open, and Lunar New Year travel planning continues.
Business groups asked for a single hotline for employers with staff in China; MAC said it is consolidating alerts into existing overseas citizen services. The message to the public: verify through official channels, not forwarded chat logs.
Business travel advisories
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council said it is not advising companies to cancel China trips but recommends executives monitor MAC bulletins twice daily during the rumor cycle.