A botanical garden celebrating biodiversity and Tao cultural heritage is to be built on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), officials said on Monday, as the Lanyu Junior High School and Taiwan Forestry Research Institute formalized the collaboration.
The school is to see its campus rebuilt as the Tao People Botanical Garden as part of the national botanical garden program, officials said at the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
The 48km2 island is home to 140 species of rare plants, or 14 percent of the 989 rare plant species in the nation, making it among the most diverse regions in Taiwan, institute director-general Chang Bin (張彬) said.
Photo copied by Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times
Lanyu is threatened by development, a problem that conservation and education authorities should confront together, Chang said, adding that the garden would help protect Tao culture by showing the Tao names and stories of indigenous plants.
School principal Yang Jui-liang (楊瑞良) said that the garden would help preserve plant species and allow students to experience the Tao way of life, such as foraging for seasonal fruits, making traditional foods and utilizing plants for crafts.
The garden would also serve as an educational zone showcasing eco-friendly practices such as carbon footprint reduction, and energy and water conservation, he said, adding that it would raise public awareness of the effects of global climate change on the biodiversity of the island.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to