A pair of red-crowned cranes from Japan arrived at Taipei Zoo last night and visitors will be able to see them on Oct. 30 following a mandatory quarantine period.
The two cranes, a nine-year-old male named BIG and a six-year-old female Gui-hua, are a gift from Kushiro Zoo in Hokkaido to promote tourism among city-to-city exchanges.
A city delegation led by Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) visited Japan on Monday to accompany the two cranes to Taiwan, which were sent to Taipei Zoo after arrival last night to undergo quarantine measures.
Photo: CNA
Chao said the arrival of the two cranes marked a breakthrough in international animal exchanges for the two countries, as it was the first time Japan agreed to export red-crowned cranes.
“It is also a sign of approval for Taipei Zoo’s efforts in nature and animal conservation. The -number of Japanese visitors to Taiwan and Taiwanese visitors to Japan last year both reached more than 1 million, and we expect the arrival of the two cranes to further promote tourism between the two countries,” she said.
Taipei Zoo spokesman Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰) said the zoo has prepared a temporary fenced area for the two cranes with a controlled room temperature below 25oC and includes plants found in their natural habitats to help them adapt to their new environment quickly.
The zoo sent veterinarians and animal caretakers to Japan last month to learn how to take care of the cranes and it is setting up a bigger exhibit in its wetland area as a permanent home for the two birds, he said.
According to the zoo, red-crowned cranes represent good fortune and longevity in Japan. They are classified as endangered birds and listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
PROBLEMATIC APP: Citing more than 1,000 fraud cases, the government is taking the app down for a year, but opposition voices are calling it censorship Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday decried a government plan to suspend access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書) for one year as censorship, while the Presidential Office backed the plan. The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday cited security risks and accusations that the Instagram-like app, known as Rednote in English, had figured in more than 1,700 fraud cases since last year. The company, which has about 3 million users in Taiwan, has not yet responded to requests for comment. “Many people online are already asking ‘How to climb over the firewall to access Xiaohongshu,’” Cheng posted on
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
RSS