After Taipei Dome incident, rats return to city’s election discourse

A rodent’s interruption of a professional baseball game at Taipei Dome on Wednesday sparked renewed discussion of rat control efforts, weeks ahead of the city’s mayoral election.

Just before the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game between the Fubon Guardians and the Wei Chuan Dragons, a small rat was spotted running out onto the field at Taipei Dome between home plate and the first base dugout.

Stadium workers quickly surrounded the rodent, using a paper bag to pin it down and carry it off the field. Though quickly resolved, the incident nevertheless became fodder for political discussion the next day.

A stadium worker,right, traps a small rat with a cardboard box on the field at Taipei Dome on Wednesday.

Photo: CNA

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said he had already asked Farglory Group, Taipei Dome’s owner and operator, to carry out disinfection procedures.

Taipei City’s sports, environmental and health departments also jointly inspected conditions at the dome, and tasked the sports department with monitoring the situation and imposing penalties if necessary, said Chiang, a member of the Kuomintang (KMT).

Puma Shen (沈伯洋), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominee for Taipei mayor, was also asked about the incident during a campaign stop in the Dadaocheng neighborhood Thursday.

Shen said problems with rats have "always existed" in Taipei, but added that he had recently noticed more people complaining about rat sightings in their homes.

Based on feedback he has collected, Shen said, many Taipei residents also have strong feelings about the reduced number of public trash cans, which has caused inconvenience while also failing to reduce the number of rat sightings.

The discussion recalled a period of several-weeks in May, when talk of an alleged "rat problem" in Taipei spread from the internet into the media and city politics.

The issue receded from the public eye after the city government launched a multi-day cleaning drive and pledged more aggressive control measures.

Regarding the issue of public trash cans, Taipei Department of Environmental Protection Director Shyu Shyh-shiun (徐世?) confirmed last month that the city had been removing bins to stop people from illegally disposing of household garbage.

Excluding those in tourist areas and business districts, which are being kept in place, the city has decreased the number of public trash cans over several years from around 2,000 to 806, Shyu said.