Using nanoprinting technology, Taiwanese orchid vendors have produced white orchids printed in blue and yellow to resemble the Ukrainian flag and are to sell them for charity at the Taiwan International Orchid Show.
The “Ukraine-color orchids” have been presented to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) as gifts, Taiwan Orchid Growers Association secretary-general Tseng Chun-pi (曾俊弼) said.
This is another gesture to show Taiwan’s support for Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia, following a government-led effort to collect donations, which have reached more than NT$330 million (US$11.64 million) in just five days.
Photo: Screen grab from President Tsai Ing-wen’s Facebook
Taiwanese orchids are exported to 63 countries, making it one of the nation’s most important agricultural products, Tseng said, adding that 14,020 tonnes were sold for nearly NT$4.5 billion last year.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the export volume and value of Taiwan’s moth orchids still increased 8.5 percent and 14.7 percent respectively, thanks to the pro-export policy adopted by the Council of Agriculture.
Taiwan holds the biggest market share of nanoprinted orchids, Tseng said.
In comparison to the traditional printing method that dyes flowers through capillary action, inkjet nanoprinting is able to produce softer colors without blocking stomata on the petals, Tseng said.
The technology is risk-free for plants and humans, he added.
However, the time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure of inkjet nanoprinting doubles or triples the price of the printed orchids, which are therefore mostly used in exhibitions.
Taiwanese nanoprinted orchids are very popular in Australia, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the market, Tseng said.
Among the nearly 4,000 types of orchids, inkjet printing is only used on 500 that are more commonly seen on the market, with the global bestseller “V3” moth orchids topping the production list, he said.
In addition to the charity sale, Taiwanese inkjet printing company Symon Agricultural Biotech is to display nanoprinted orchids at the show, which runs from March 26 to April 5.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS