Several Chinese zoos have expressed an interest in raising Formosan serows, Taipei City Zoo animal division chief Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰) said on Tuesday.
The zoos expressed their interest after learning that Taiwan will ship a pair of Formosan serows and two Formosan sika deers to China as a gift in exchange for two of China’s giant pandas, Chao said.
Taiwan and China signed an agreement for the exchange of the pandas last November, and Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓) arrived in December.
The zoo will select a pair of Formosan serows at optimum mating age to be shipped to China, Chao said.
Regarding reports that the Taiwanese animals will go to the Beijing zoo, Chao said the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait were still working on the departure schedule and where the animals would go.
The Taipei City Zoo would not ship more Formosan serows to Chinese zoos until the first pair is handed over, Chao said.
The population of Formosan serows is expanding, Chao said. Five were born at the zoo in the first two months of the year, bringing the zoo’s herd to 38 animals, said Chao, who is in charge of the Formosan serows conservation program.
That growth is a remarkable achievement in reviving the protected species, Chao said.
Serows, which resemble goats or antelopes, are Taiwan’s only native species in the bovine family, the zoo said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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