Animal rights advocacy groups yesterday praised pop star Selina Jen (任家萱) for her decision to not serve shark fin soup at her wedding banquet out of concern for ecological conservation.
A member of the popular girl band S.H.E., Selina has been in the spotlight since she was badly burned on Oct. 22 last year during the filming of an explosion for a TV drama in Shanghai. The entertainer has undergone three skin grafts. Selina is scheduled to marry lawyer Chang Cheng-chung (張承中) today, on her birthday.
“We are glad to hear the decision from Jen that there will be no shark fin dish at her wedding banquet, and that it would be replaced with bamboo mushroom,” Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan director Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏) said. “Her effort for ecological conservation has set a very good example for her fans, and I hope more celebrities will do the same to raise public awareness of the issue.”
Photo provided courtesy of HIM records
Chen said that on average, 26 million sharks are killed annually for their fins around the world because shark fin is traditionally considered a delicacy at banquets in Taiwan and China, as well as among Taiwanese and Chinese communities abroad.
According to research conducted by the society earlier this year, between 920,000 and 3.8 million sharks are killed for their fins for wedding banquets in Taiwan’s 71 hotels classified by the Tourism Bureau as “international tourism hotels,” she said.
“Sharks reproduce slowly, and for some shark species, a female shark gives birth to only one or two offspring every one to three years, and it takes a long time for a baby shark to grow into an adult shark,” Chen said. “Sharks are the top predators in their ecosystem, so when sharks disappear in large numbers, it’s going to cause some dramatic changes in their environment.”
In a written statement, Humane Society International representative Iris Ho (何燕青) said she was also glad to hear Jen’s decision.
“The pop band S.H.E. is popular in ethnic Chinese [and Taiwanese] communities around the world, especially among young people, and I’m happy that Selina, one of its members, could set such an example,” Ho said in the statement. “I hope it will inspire more overseas Chinese to take concrete steps to help protect the ocean’s ecology.”
Ahead of her wedding today, Selina on Friday unveiled a Mandarin solo single titled Those Who Love Me.
“Thank you, those who love me ... For what you have done for me, I can stand firm and be strong. Reborn for love,” the 29-year-old star sang in a video posted on YouTube.
Additional reporting by CNA
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all