The New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office has called on birdwatchers visiting the city’s Bali (八里), Wanli (萬里) and Jinshan (金山) districts to avoid feeding or scaring migratory birds resting in the area.
The districts are popular with birdwatchers wanting to see black-faced spoonbills, Eurasian spoonbills and other migratory birds who rest there before heading south when the weather improves, the office said, adding that the Lunar New Year holiday is an especially good time to see the birds.
The number of visitors to Jinshan District hoping to photograph the birds has been on the rise due to social media posts showing the large number of migratory birds in the area, the office said.
However, birdwatchers should exercise caution to avoid disturbing the birds, and risk a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 and a prison sentence of up to one year, the office said, citing Article 18 of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
The office said it has been sending personnel to the district to post signs warning the public to keep a distance from and avoid disturbing wildlife.
The black-faced spoonbill is on the brink of extinction, the office said, adding that the birds are largely found in North Korea and northern China most of the year, flying south for the winter.
In Taiwan, they spend most of the winter in Tainan’s Cigu Township (七股), it said.
A year ago, six black-faced spoonbills and one Eurasian spoonbill were spotted in Jinshan, and 15 black-faced spoonbills were seen in Bali District at the end of May, the office said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS