Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday were upbeat about the arrival of two pandas from China, while the opposition slammed the exploitation of the animals’ for political purposes.
“We should return the favor and give China two indigenous Formosan rock-monkeys, one will be called ‘Tai-tai (台台),’ the other one ‘Du-du (獨獨),’ [taidu (台獨) means Taiwan independence in Mandarin] to express our appreciation for their gift,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) told a press conference yesterday.
Lin’s comments were echoed by Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan director Wu Hung (朱增宏).
“The pandas’ names hold political meaning,” Wu Hung said, referring to the name given by China to Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), meaning “to reunite” in Mandarin.
Criticizing the exploitation of the pandas’ animal rights, he said that since China’s panda conservation efforts began in 1974, 600 panda cubs have been born, but only 241 survived.
“China’s conservation of pandas is a false effort,” he said.
While animals in the wild occupy habitats as large as 5km2, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan will each have about 700m2 in the zoo, Wu Hung said, adding “unlike humans, pandas reside in solitude in the wild except during mating season, but these two are forced to be caged together.”
Wu Hung also criticized the way China filled out the export documents for the animals — specifically, how China entered the “import country” and “export country” fields.
Citing Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳), who on Dec. 11 said that the animals would be listed as being shipped from “Chengdu, Sichuan Province” to “Taipei, Taiwan,” Wu Hung said, “the political intent is very obvious.”
He said when Taiwan imported otters from Poland, Poland filled out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) documents with “Taipei, PRC [People’s Republic of China],” and the Council of Agriculture demanded that it be changed to “ROC [Republic of China].”
“But [in the panda case] the country of import is ‘Taiwan, Taipei,’ while the country of export is only a city in China. It is demeaning to the sovereignty of Taiwan,” said Wu Hung, who is a former member of the COA’s Panda Case Review Committee.
In response, the Forestry Bureau yesterday said in a press release that the exportation document “did not lower the status of Taiwan.”
“Tuan-tuan and Yuan-yuan’s export papers followed administrative protocols and complies to the format of what the Bureau of Foreign Trade published in 2002,” a press release said.
According to the bureau publication, CITES appendix I and II animals and plants from China can either be handled by filing the CITES Permit/Certificate for Import/Export and Reexport, or China’s Permit for Wild Animal and Plant Import/Export, the bureau said, adding that in the case of the pandas, the latter was chosen.
“On the document, China cites Taiwan as ‘TW TAIPEI,’ which is in accordance with administrative standards and governmental regulations,” the bureau said.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) said yesterday that “if you want to observe [wildlife] you should do so non-intrusively, [but] now the pandas are like pop stars walking down the catwalk, that is animal torture … I would not encourage my family to go see the pandas.”
KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) laughed off the DPP caucus’ boycott of the pandas.
“I’ve checked. The pandas are nonpartisan although they do look like [late Chinese leader] Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平),” Lee said yesterday. “They [the pandas] are not affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party or the KMT.”
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) expressed similar views, urging the DPP not to politicize the animals.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it