What is arguably the most famous tree at Taiwan’s east coast region was uprooted during Typhoon Matmo’s onslaught on Tuesday evening, leaving the local government and residents at odds over its fate.
Standing alone next to a road between rice paddies and farmlands against a backdrop of green mountains in Taitung County’s Chihshang Township (池上), the red cedar has become a popular tourist attraction after being featured in EVA Air’s “I See You” international advertising campaign since last year.
The television ad shows Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (Jin Cheng-wu, 金城武) riding a bicycle along the rural road and stopping in the shade of the tree to drink a cup of tea.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
The advertisement resulted in visitors flocking to the site’s postcard-perfect surroundings to take photographs with the tree, which has become known as the “Takeshi Kaneshiro tree.”
Yesterday morning, after Typhoon Matmo pummeled the east coast, a local resident found the tree uprooted and lying in a rice paddy.
Some local residents said they are saddened by the tree’s demise, with the Chihshang Township Council and the Taitung County Government vowing to save the tree by replanting it in its original position.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
However, another group of local residents has voiced their objections, saying that the “Takeshi Kaneshiro tree” should not be saved, because it had caused them many headaches and problems.
The objecting group said that the large daily influx of tourists who visit the site to take photographs with the tree has been detrimental to their small village because it creates traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, and trash that has to be cleaned up, all of which create a financial burden.
“I don’t want to see that tree replanted. Us farmers around here do not want all these tourists bringing all sorts of problems with them,” a local farmer said.
He added that only the government and some businesses reaped the benefits of increased tourism, while the farmers suffered most from having to deal with the crowds of tourists and received no benefits at all.
A Taiwan Tree Protection Alliance (台灣護樹團體聯盟) spokesperson, identified only as “Angela,” said the typhoon was the final straw in the demise of the tree, as the alliance had last year already warned that the “Takeshi Kaneshiro tree” was being abused and maltreated.
“[The base of] this famous tree was surrounded and covered by asphalt, which gets very hot in the sun, and its roots were in bad condition due to the asphalt preventing the circulation of air and water. Many cars and tourists [visiting the site] also played a role in destroying the tree’s surrounding habitat,” Angela said yesterday.
Government officials insisted that they plan to replant the tree, but with local residents and environmental groups opposing such a move, a battle between tourism and economic development versus farmers and the need to protect nature is sure to follow.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS