To mark Earth Day today, thousands of people nationwide yesterday joined cleanup efforts to promote the idea of reducing plastic use.
Established in 1970 by US environmentalists, Earth Day has become a global event celebrated annually on April 22, and this year’s theme is “End plastic pollution,” the US-based Earth Day Network said on its Web site.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) led about 1,000 people, including Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), to clean the city’s Syucuo Harbor (許厝港) and Jhuwei Fishing Harbor (竹圍漁港).
Photo: CNA
A total of 3.4 tonnes of garbage and 600kg of recyclable waste was gathered from the beaches, while 630.7kg of trash was collected in the harbors’ waters, with plastics constituting the majority of the garbage, the Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection said.
Members of Kainan University, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Ever Rich DFS Corp (昇恆昌), the ASE Cultural & Educational Foundation and other organizations contributed in the cleanups, the department said.
In Tainan, about 2,000 people collected 3.4 tonnes of garbage, including 2.8 tonnes of bamboo frames, and 600kg of recyclable waste, including 220kg of beverage cups and 180kg of plastic, at two of the city’s tourist attractions, the Tainan Environmental Protection Bureau said.
The Nantou Forest District Office mobilized more than 150 people to clean up Hehuanshan (合歡山), one of the nation’s highest mountains, with 700kg of trash collected and removed within three hours.
Hehuanshan is a popular scenic spot, but the garbage that visitors leave behind, such as snack packaging, plastic bags and polyethylene terephthalate bottles, have hurt the environment, office Deputy Director Chang Hsien-jen (張獻仁) said, urging visitors to take their garbage home to help protect forests.
The Taipei City Government held a fair at 44 South Village (四四南村), where vendors sold reusable products that can replace plastic ones.
The city government plans to hold a series of forums at five universities on reducing the use of plastic, with Plastics Industry Development Center manager Hsu Hsiang-jui (許祥瑞) to launch the events at the University of Taipei on May 7.
The Taichung and Kaohsiung city governments are to mark Earth Day with activities today at Taichung Metropolitan Park and a wetland park in Dashu District (大樹) respectively.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique