FISHERIES
EU inspection expected
A new round of evaluations on efforts to combat illegal fishing is expected in March, a spokesperson for the EU said on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Taiwan and the EU have always had a positive and constructive dialogue on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and it welcomes the nation’s efforts on the issue. EU inspectors would conduct an evaluation in March, the spokesperson said. The EU in October 2015 placed Taiwan on its “yellow card” watch list for insufficient cooperation in IUU fishing. Since then, EU officials have visited every six months to see how the issues are being addressed. The previous time they were here for an evaluation was in October last year, but no decision has been made by the EU to lift the warning imposed on Taiwan.
TOURISM
Wuling controls announced
Crowd controls would be implemented in the Wuling Farm (武陵農場) area in central Taiwan during the cherry blossom season from Feb. 7 to Feb. 27, the Directorate-General of Highways (DHG) said. The number of visitors allowed to enter the area in the period would be capped at 6,000 per day, with 1,800 being overnight visitors and 4,200 single-day visitors, the DHG said. The 4,200 day visitors would be limited to 1,000 in tour groups and 3,200 independent travelers using public transportation, it said. The farm said that its Taiwanese cherry trees at the farm have already started blooming, about one month earlier than last year, with about 70 percent already in full bloom. Other varieties at the farm include the oshima, yaezakura and wusheh, which account for more than 30,000 cherry trees in the area.
TOURISM
‘Guardian’ ranks Taiwan
British newspaper the Guardian listed Taiwan as one of its top 40 destinations worth visiting this year. The Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, which opened on Oct. 13 last year, features prominently in the article for Taiwan. The center is “just one reason to explore beyond the capital, Taipei,” the newspaper said. Formerly a military training base, the center spans 9.9 hectares and was designed by Francine Houben, founder of Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo. The newspaper also mentioned the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which is to be held from Feb. 19 to March 3 at Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) and two other locations.
TOURISM
Nation ranked 5th-friendliest
Taiwan was ranked the fifth-friendliest nation in the world for last year by customers of Booking.com — one of the world’s largest e-commerce travel companies. Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan, was chosen as the most friendly travel destination in the country, according to Booking.com, with Taiwanese travelers identifying the friendliness of a destination as an important element in deciding whether to visit. Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland and New Zealand were the top four countries on the list, while Romania, Hungary, Iceland, Serbia, and Greece completed the top 10, according to the Web site, which on Tuesday released the ranking as part of its Guest Review Awards. Last year, 759,845 travel accommodation providers in 219 nations and areas received a Guest Review Award based on guest comments. Italy retained the top spot with 106,513 lodgings winning awards, while Taiwan was ranked 33rd, up three places from 2017.
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
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