I am writing in response to recent adverse comment on Taipei Zoo.
From my own knowledge this criticism is justified. And, although there are some mitigating factors, the situation is an appalling indictment of the zoo's management.
For a modern, well-funded zoo to keep an animal, namely a chimpanzee (`Siao Chiang'), in cramped, solitary confinement for nine years simply because he was intelligent enough to manage to escape on two occasions and also misbehaved, is inexcusable.
Although the zoo has used a lack of funds as justification, there has been sufficient funding available to construct an enormously expensive Panda House and adjoining buildings (which are now a white elephant as these animals are not coming to Taiwan), and a sea of concrete and garish buildings which, however appealing they are to visitors, appear to have been constructed at the expense of the animals.
There were funds enough to buy false trees to replace the natural ones cut down. I could go on ad infinitum, however, I will just say that the current orangutans on exhibit, which are totally arboreal in nature, are housed in an enclosure more suitable for the African rock hyrax.
However, there are two sides to every coin. In respect of the pandas, where politics raises its ugly head, the chimps I saw shivering in the recent winter cold are, despite having a DNA and molecular structure similar to humans, not the economic draw pandas are and all zoos are subject to the exhibit value of their animals.
Also, the zoo authorities are not masters of their own fate -- they are controlled by the Taipei City Council, which appears to be reluctant to loosen its purse strings, at least where the animals' welfare is concerned. On a recent visit to the zoo, together with an associate, the zoo staff promised to carry out he improvements we suggested, and credit must be given to them because they are trying their best although their hands are tied, at least for now, where budgetary matters are concerned.
As a longtime resident of Taiwan, I am most concerned with the nation's image abroad, and I feel the Taiwan's interests would be better served by a committee to oversee all aspects of the zoo.
Local academics in relevant fields and representatives of international wildlife agencies could act as observers and advisors, without political interference.
The criterion governing every decision should be a balanced concern for both visitors to the zoo and its animal inhabitants. A member of this committee could act as a zoo press officer to ensure that Taipei Zoo gets fair media coverage both locally and overseas.
The zoo is an enormous success financially, with a huge budget, millions of visitors and all the necessary expertise. It should, and can, be able to avoid criticism.
Charles Shuttleworth
Representative in Taiwan, International Primate
Protection League
Taipei County
The narrative surrounding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attendance at last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit — where he held hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin and chatted amiably with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — was widely framed as a signal of Modi distancing himself from the US and edging closer to regional autocrats. It was depicted as Modi reacting to the levying of high US tariffs, burying the hatchet over border disputes with China, and heralding less engagement with the Quadrilateral Security dialogue (Quad) composed of the US, India, Japan and Australia. With Modi in China for the
The Jamestown Foundation last week published an article exposing Beijing’s oil rigs and other potential dual-use platforms in waters near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島). China’s activities there resembled what they did in the East China Sea, inside the exclusive economic zones of Japan and South Korea, as well as with other South China Sea claimants. However, the most surprising element of the report was that the authors’ government contacts and Jamestown’s own evinced little awareness of China’s activities. That Beijing’s testing of Taiwanese (and its allies) situational awareness seemingly went unnoticed strongly suggests the need for more intelligence. Taiwan’s naval
A report by the US-based Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday last week warned that China is operating illegal oil drilling inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island (Dongsha, 東沙群島), marking a sharp escalation in Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. The report said that, starting in July, state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp installed 12 permanent or semi-permanent oil rig structures and dozens of associated ships deep inside Taiwan’s EEZ about 48km from the restricted waters of Pratas Island in the northeast of the South China Sea, islands that are home to a Taiwanese garrison. The rigs not only typify
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS