Exchanges between Taipei and cities in China, including adding a new panda to Taipei Zoo, would be beneficial, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.
Chiang made the remarks in response to a question about reports that China might gift Taipei a giant panda.
Taiwanese online news outlet Storm Media yesterday reported that with the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) major victories in last year’s local elections, the Chinese government would seek to foster positive cross-strait relations this year.
Photo: CNA
The report said that following visits to China by high-ranking KMT officials, Beijing would give Taipei a new giant panda, after the death last year of Taipei Zoo’s male giant panda Tuan Tuan (團團), also previously gifted by China.
When asked about the report, Chiang said that exchanges between cities or receiving a new panda would be beneficial to Taipei.
He said he would ask Taipei Zoo and the city government’s cross-strait affairs task force to look into the matter, and that he would publicize any preliminary conclusions from such discussions.
Chiang was speaking on the sidelines of a Taipei Rapid Transit Corp event featuring a special MRT train exclusively for pets, to celebrate International Pet Day tomorrow.
Thirty-six pet owners and 42 pets — small and medium-sized dogs and cats — were preregistered to ride the train.
The pets were required to wear harnesses and leashes at all times during the journey, but were allowed to explore the train freely with their owners.
The short train ride was only a trial run for the city government to gather opinions from pet owners and animal welfare groups, Chiang said.
As more than 210,000 cats and dogs are registered in Taipei, the city government views animal protection as an important issue, and plans to add two more dog parks this year and work with community colleges to promote life education, he said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese