◎ Tang Minghui
A pathogen leak occurred at a plague prevention research institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia. A 28-year-old researcher died of severe unknown pneumonia. Nearly 200 people were rushed to the hospital for isolation, prompting Washington to demand that Moscow reveal the source of the pathogen. Although tests by Russia and the WHO have not yet found highly pathogenic Yersinia pestis and the quarantine has been gradually lifted, the laboratory has extremely strict management regulations and this accident was not a simple negligence. As the war in Ukraine reaches a stalemate, the dangerous signs of the "Russian version of COVID" have been exposed, and it is very likely to turn into an asymmetric hybrid war of imposing public health systems and social panic on Europe.
A laboratory worker at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Irkutsk, Russia's Siberia and Far East died of unknown pneumonia. Rumors suggested that he was suspected of being infected with pneumonic plague, which aroused concern from the US government and the World Health Organization. (AP file photo) Hybrid warfare warning of pathogen leakage from Russian laboratory
For Taiwan, this biological warfare threat does not lie far away in Europe. In recent years, the Sino-Russian border has been fully opened with two-way visa exemption and large-scale trade. In 2025, the number of two-way personnel visits between China and Russia exceeded 3 million. In the first half of this year, Chinese tourists accounted for more than 50% of the entry into Russia. The ports of Heilongjiang and Manzhouli have unprecedentedly close exchanges. Under the bureaucratic inertia of the totalitarian system that has always concealed the epidemic, leaked pathogens can easily enter China and then be transferred to Taiwan through frequent cross-strait flows of people and goods.
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Put an end to new epidemics and upgrade epidemic prevention to prevent problems before they happen
Although the CDC has strengthened fever screening at airports and ports, border defense still needs to consider suspicious logistics routes. The national security and public health departments should also immediately launch a step-by-step defense plan: first, target high-risk movement routes through Russia-China border ports and implement accurate traceability of contact history; secondly, conduct a forward-looking inventory of the stocks of first-line antibiotics (such as streptomycin and tetracycline) and broad-acting antiviral drugs for pneumonic plague, and calculate the gap in critical negative pressure wards and consumables. Only by taking preventive measures can we prevent new diseases from penetrating the sea.
During the Legislative Yuan meeting on October 13, legislators asked about concerns about the outbreak of pneumonic plague in Siberia, Russia. Executive Yuan Zhuo Rongtai (middle), Minister of Health and Welfare Shi Chongliang (left), and Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Qiu Chuizheng (right) provided explanations for inquiries. (File photo)
(The author is a doctoral candidate at the National Development and Research Institute of National Taiwan University and a director of the Taiwan Security and Development Association)
