The New Taipei City Government has canceled a proposed photography contest focused on a rare Siberian white crane that migrated to a wetland in the city late last year amid criticism the contest could threaten the bird’s habitat with the influx of competitors and tourists.
The contest was promoted on the city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Web site to raise awareness of bird conservation and the rarity of the white crane — an endangered species — but the office canceled the contest due to conservation concerns, office director Chen Yuan-chuan (陳淵泉) said.
The office has deployed a security guard to maintain order at the site, cordoned off the rice paddies where the bird dwells and set up warning signs to caution the public against getting too close to the bird, Chen said.
Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times
Taiwan Ecological Engineering Development Foundation deputy executive Chiu Ming-yuan (邱銘源), who established a conservation team to protect the white crane and document its daily activities and growth, said humans are the most dangerous threat to the crane.
The white crane has survived several human intrusions, including a television crew that was shooting a gunfight scene using camera-equipped drones, photographers breaking into the paddies to capture the bird and tourists teasing the crane with a slipper, Chiu said.
He said that although the office might have launched the contest out of goodwill, but it had misunderstood its duty to protect the bird, while encouraging more tourists at a time when the on-site guard and environmentalists were already overwhelmed with misbehaving visitors.
Saying that the office had claimed that it could not afford to keep a guard at the scene any longer than next month, Chiu asked how the office had the money to hold the contest.
A birdwatcher surnamed Lai (賴) said any such activity that did not contribute to ecological education is a waste of money and could lead to misconceptions about conservation.
Chen said that it only costs NT$30,000 to hold the contest, which is defined as an administrative expense, while hiring a security guard is a personnel expense.
However, the office has managed to hire a security guard until Sept. 15, Chen said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS