Animal-rights groups yesterday protested against China's plan to send two giant pandas to Taiwan, saying the endangered animals should remain in their natural habitat.
Ten animal rights groups expressed their stance after China announced yesterday morning that it will give a pair of pandas to Taiwan as a peace gesture. Taiwan welcomed the offer but said Beijing must hold official talks with Taipei on the issue.
"We are opposed to politicians' exchanging animals as gifts to achieve political aims. We think pandas should remain in their natural habitat and not be sent to Taiwan to be viewed by tourists," said Chu Tseng-hung (朱增宏), the director-general of the Environment & Animals Society of Taiwan.
"Taiwanese officials say they plan to approve receiving the pandas for education and research purposes. If that is true, Taiwan should contribute funds to the research on pandas in China," he said.
Chu said Taipei Zoo is already cramped and budget-strapped. Raising two pandas requires one-eighth of the zoo's budget and would make things worse, he said.
Chu said that even if public opinion polls show that the majority of Taiwanese welcome the pandas, animal-rights groups will still express their opposition.
More than 20 animal rights, environmental, social and women's groups said they will sign a petition against the panda plan, and will launch a signature-gathering drive on their Web sites, Chu said.
Pandas are endangered animals and their movements are strictly monitored by the UN Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES).
But CITES has said that it regards Beijing's giving pandas to Taiwan as China's internal affair and does not want to be involved in it.
The Taipei Zoo said it is ready to receive the pandas from China.
In recent years, Taipei Zoo has sent personnel to Washington, Tokyo and Beijing to learn how to care for pandas, spokesman Chao Ming-chieh (
"We are building a panda hall which can open next spring. Among the bamboo types pandas eat, several types of them grow in Taiwan," he said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS