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.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS