Taiwan hosted two events in New York on Wednesday to raise awareness of climate change and the rights of indigenous peoples in advance of Earth Day today, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York said.
TECO hosted a seminar with the Council of Indigenous Peoples, with discussions focused on indigenous issues, climate change and human health, echoing the theme of the 22nd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The forum began in New York on Monday and runs through Friday next week, with the theme: “Indigenous peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: A rights-based approach.”
TECO New York Director James Lee (李光章) spoke of the importance of indigenous language revitalization and protecting the indigenous rights in an address to an audience of more than 100 at the seminar, including UN-posted foreign officials and those participating in the UN forum.
Taiwan promulgated the Indigenous Languages Development Act (原住民族語言發展法) in June 2017, under which indigenous languages are defined as national languages, Lee said.
Indigenous cultures can offer solutions to ecological conservation and food security, among other challenges, Lee said.
Research on the climate resilience of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, citing the devastation caused by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan in 2009, was presented by students from Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society.
Morakot tore through central and southern Taiwan in August 2009, causing serious flooding and massive landslides, including one that buried Siaolin Village (小林) in Kaohsiung, killing 462 residents, mostly indigenous people.
The team showed in their research that education, partnership and self-governance help indigenous people respond to natural disasters.
Council of Indigenous Peoples official Yapasuyongu Poiconu said that 60 percent of land in Taiwan is traditional indigenous territory, along with much of the nation’s forests and rivers.
“If we fail to protect indigenous peoples’ traditional territory, it will be difficult for Taiwan to cope with climate change,” he said.
An exhibition for the Creative Climate Awards also opened at the TECO New York office on Wednesday, themed “Inspiring a Climate Renaissance.”
The exhibition highlights the connection between diverse groups and climate change, and is open to the public on weekdays until May 12, the office said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS