A campaign to select a national bird by a nationwide poll officially kicked off in Taipei yesterday.
"Many countries have their own national birds," said Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), president of the campaign's sponsor, Taiwan Sustainable Ecological Society (TSES).
"For instance, the US has selected the bald eagle as its national bird," she said.
PHOTO: CNA
"With such a diverse ecology, it's a shame that we don't have a national bird," added Tien, who is also a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
"The result of the poll will be confirmed by the legislature and become official," she said.
The campaign launch yesterday was also supported by several Cabinet ministries and various private businesses.
The organization is inviting everyone, especially children and young people, to participate in an online poll to choose a national bird for Taiwan.
The campaign, called the "Taiwan national bird election," has so far received 40,000 votes in early polling that began three days ago, the group said.
Online voting will run until the end of March.
"There are 15 rare species of bird that only exist in Taiwan which are very attractive to ecological tourists," said Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"Selecting a national bird may help the government's plan to double the number of tourists," he said.
Among the 15, the candidate birds are the Swinhoe's pheasant, the Formosan magpie, the Taiwan tit and the Mikado pheasant.
Wang, who was asked to cast the first ballot, voted for the Mikado pheasant.
"In the higher mountains, you can see Mikado pheasants walking sturdily and mightily, yet peacefully and relaxed out of the morning mist. It looks just like an emperor," Wang said, explaining his choice.
"It's similar to how Taiwan can be a leader in many areas," Wang said.
Wang said that the national bird should "represent the spirit and character of Taiwan."
"This is a soft display of national sovereignty," Tien said later, explaining the underlying aim of the campaign.
"Through the campaign we hope that children will learn more about, and be better able to relate to the land where they were born and raised," she added.
"The selection of a national bird will also promote national solidarity," Tien said, "such as when the bald eagle was endangered in the US and the entire nation stood united to save its national symbol."
Bald eagles were listed as endangered in 43 US states, but after conservation efforts were removed from the endangered species list in 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.
"After all, it will be good for the parliament of Taiwan to work on something beautiful together," Tien said.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
RSS