A task force comprising official and private organizations yesterday announced preliminary success in their efforts to reduce hunting and preserve gray-faced buzzard colonies.
"After one year of intensive work, we have managed to substantially reduce illegal hunting of the birds," Taiwan Solidarity Union legislative caucus whip Chen Yin-ho (陳銀河) told a press conference.
Chen said that the task force's goal "is to educate Taiwanese to cherish our annual migrating visitors and make Taiwan the best place for gray-faced buzzard eco-tourism."
The task force, convened by Chen, involves several governmental and private agencies, such as the Kenting National Park Administration Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, Pingtung County's Manjhou Township (
The gray-faced buzzard is an Asian medium-sized raptor, RRGT secretary-general Lin Wen-horn (
In summer, the birds reside in northern countries and areas such as Japan, Siberia, northeastern China and Korea, and in winter migrate to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
During the crossing, Taiwan hosts the largest colony of buzzards because of its geographic location, he said.
"Buzzards from several countries congregate at Pingtung County's Manjhou Township and disperse to different southern destinations; the record was about 36,000 in one year," he said. "However, hundreds each year are illegally hunted [for food] by mostly locals, who sell them to restaurants or individuals."
Majhou Township Secretary-General Yu Tseng-chun (余增春) said the illegal hunting might be linked to the town's poor economy.
"The birds sell for up to NT$1,000, which is not a small incentive for the locals," he said.
The township was the target of criticism from around the country last year after photographs of inhumane hunting practices appeared in the media, Lin said.
"I understand the financial hardship of the local community, but we should not sanction what is illegal," he said.
In the past year both local and central police dispatched patrols to arrest hunters, said Chen Hsin-en (
Lin said that bird-watchers this year have unanimously reported more bird sightings.
The conference yesterday also discussed a proposal to develop local eco-tourism for gray-faced buzzard-watching, which Yu said would be widely welcomed in the township.
"When people come visit Manjhou, they will realize that gray-faced buzzards are not our only assets," Yu said. "The township is also home to several Aboriginal tribes and boasts a rich culture."
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
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
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
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS