The Mayor of Kushiro in Japan said he is proud that a pair of red-crowned cranes delivered from his city’s zoo in Hokkaido became parents at Taipei Zoo in June last year.
Kika and Big arrived in 2011 as part of a project to conserve the species outside their natural habitats.
After 11 years of effort, Taipei Zoo bred a red-crowned chick that was named Li-he (哩鶴) by an online poll.
Photo: CNA
The name, suggested by EVA Airways Corp, drew the most votes in a poll conducted by Taipei Zoo.
“Li-he” sounds like “hello” in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), and the character for “he” means “crane” in Chinese.
Kushiro Mayor Hiroya Ebina on Wednesday visited Taipei Zoo with a delegation comprising Kushiro Superintendent of Education Yoshitaka Okabe, Kushiro City Council Speaker Masaaki Matsunaga, Japan-Taiwan Goodwill Association president Shuichi Obunai and Kushiro Zoo director Takahiro Suzuki.
Among the 75 species Japan has designated in the conservation project, Kika and Big are the first from among them to be exported, Ebina said.
The first of the project’s plant species exported was the marimo moss presented to Taipei Zoo in 2019, which showed “Japan’s trust in the friendship with Taiwan,” he said.
Red-crowned cranes and marimo moss are Hokkaido’s pride, Ebina said, adding that he hopes the friendship between Japan and Taiwan, as well as between Kushiro and Taipei, is everlasting.
Ebina said he has been anticipating the arrival of Big and Kika’s chick since the pair arrived in Taiwan, and was happy to finally see Li-he in person.
Taipei Zoo is one of Asia’s best, which facilitates productive cooperation in the program and conservation of the cranes, he said.
The zoo is to discuss with the Kushiro government the cranes’ ownership and their next breeding plan, Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said.
The cooperation between the two cities could be expanded to the conservation of other animals, he added.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS