The government will not accept the pandas that China reportedly is planning to give Taiwan if Beijing attempts to downgrade Taiwan's status to become part of China through the gift, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Home and Nations Committee in response to reports that the municipal government of Shanghai might offer to present two pandas to Taipei City in the name of city exchanges before a delegation led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Wu pointed out that the issue of pandas coming to Taiwan has been discussed between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait on 10 occasions since 1992, including one instance when Beijing proposed sending the animals to Taiwan for exhibition.
None of those plans were realized mainly because of an assessment by the Council of Agriculture indicating that Taiwan lacks the ability to raise pandas, which are an endangered species, Wu said.
In Shanghai, KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) confirmed that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) discussed the panda issue with Lien during their meeting last Friday and that Beijing authorities also mentioned the possibility of granting tariff-free treatment to some Taiwanese agricultural products while receiving the KMT delegation.
Lin said he believes Beijing will make an announcement of its decisions soon.
Also yesterday, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po daily cited Xu Bodong (徐博東), a professor of Taiwan studies at Beijing Union University, as saying that it is "political obstacles," rather than technical problems, that is preventing Taiwan from accepting the pandas.
Xu said Shanghai is more suitable than Beijing to make the offer to Taiwan because the pandas are a gift for the people of Taiwan and a token of friendship between the cities of Shanghai and Taipei.
The gift can also promote exchanges between the Shanghai Zoo and Taipei Zoo, Xu said.
Xu claimed that judging from the climate, environment, food and technology in Taiwan, it is not inferior to any Chinese city in terms of ability to raise pandas.
Meanwhile, Pei Enle, deputy head of the Shanghai Zoo, told the paper that there is only one panda left in the zoo after the other one was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in the US.
Pei said it is quite unlikely that the zoo will give its only remaining panda to Lien and that the zoo has not received any notification concerning the matter.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS