Members of several wildlife conservation groups went on a field trip to a salt marsh in Putai (布袋), Chiayi City, yesterday to witness Asian horseshoe crabs, known as one of the few "living fossil" species in Taiwan, which have been sighted recently on the coast near Chiayi City.
They will join researchers from the Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica (RCBAS) and Chiayi officials to see the erection of a netted area to allow the adult crabs to spawn and the babies to be nurtured, making the area an exclusive breeding zone for the crabs.
Five adult and 32 young Asian horseshoe crabs, tachypleus tridentatus, whose appearance on Earth can be dated back to 200 million years ago, have been sighted on the coast of Putai, making it the third place in the country to witness the appearance of the crabs after sightings were reported on the outlying island of Kinmen and in the Penghu (澎湖) archipelago, Chiayi County officials said on Friday.
The protection of the Asian horseshoe crabs is being promoted as one of the activities to attract tourists to Chiayi County, officials said.
Last year 70,000 baby Asian horseshoe crabs bred in captivity were released into the wild off the coast of Kinmen as part of efforts to conserve the "living fossil" species.
With its distinctive domed carapace shaped like a horseshoe and a stiff pointed tail, the Asian horseshoe crab was almost extinct in the waters surrounding Taiwan as a result of development and environmental changes. It started to be sighted again near Penghu a couple of years ago.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS