The governments of Taipei City and Taipei County yesterday exchanged accusations about the chaos surrounding Taiwan's first ever sea burial service, which took place on Monday night.
Ku Yen-ling (
The burial at sea was supposed to be held on Monday morning about 6km from Taipei County's Sanchi Township, but funeralgoers were left stranded after county government officials said that they had not yet decided on where sea burials could be legally performed. They also said that the boats did not meet safety regulations.
The families who brought their loved ones' ashes to participate in the service were disappointed about the officials' interference.
Huang Meng-king (黃滿金), one of the family members who took part in the ceremony, said the service had to be carried out on Monday, because they were afraid that the flour they had mixed with their father's ashes to feed the fish would start to go bad.
"We don't care about the political issues. We just want to follow my father's wishes," Huang said.
After negotiating with the county government and the ship owners, the service was finally held offshore from Yehliu (
"I think the Taipei County Government just found fault with us on purpose. We feel we encountered unnecessary obstacles set by the county government," Ku said yesterday at a news conference.
The county government's Bu-reau Director of Civil Affairs Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said yesterday that the county government's stance regarding the issue has not changed since this November, when the city government first sought cooperation with the county government on sea burials.
"We do not oppose the sea burials. On the contrary, we think it is a good alternative that meets the concept of environmental protection, since Taiwan has limited land resources," Chang said.
"But currently the relevant laws are incomplete and many issues must still be settled, such as the problems of safety and the preservation of fishery resources," he said.
He said he did not understand why the city government insisted on holding the service, since the county government has clearly expressed its position.
According to Chang the county will complete its regulations on burials at sea by March.
Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
"I hope our public officials could serve our people and that they will have the courage to solve their problems," Su said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the