The days of strictly political diplomacy and confrontational competition with China in the international arena are long gone, but Taiwan is capable of pursuing its diplomatic initiatives in other ways, such as ecological consultation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (
"No one will say no to ecological and environmental protection these days," said Tien, who led an 11-member mission to St. Lucia from Nov. 25 to last Sunday to help develop its ecotourism and bird-watching infrastructure.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs-backed mission, comprised of bird-watchers and photographers, was aimed at helping the Caribbean ally establish its ecotourism routes and birding Web sites, as well as documenting bird species for a birding guide, Tien said.
During the trip, 46 bird species were documented, including St. Lucia's national bird, the St. Lucia parrot, and 25 were photographed.
Two photographers attached to the mission have extended their stays for another month.
"This is a brand new attempt for us to embrace the global trend of environmental diplomacy and preservation of biodiversity and develop our international diplomacy at the same time. There's no better place for such a mission than St. Lucia, which re-established official diplomatic ties with Taiwan on April 30," Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said.
It is the first time the ministry has worked with non-governmental organizations on an "eco-diplomacy program," Huang said, thanking the Taiwan Sustainable Ecology Society and the Taiwan International Birding Association for their help.
What Taiwan wanted to do for its allies was drastically different from China, he said, and focused on what the people needed.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS