The Yuli Township (玉里) Office in Hualien County has sparked controversy after introducing 150 non-native fish into a local park pond as part of a campaign to enhance the area’s biodiversity.
In a social media post earlier this week, the township office announced that it had recently introduced koi fish and red Nile tilapia to the pond to create a more appealing recreational environment.
The post sparked a backlash, however, with most of the 300 comments criticizing the move.
Photo courtesy of the Yuli Township Office
The post followed the deletion of an earlier Facebook statement in which the office said that keeping the two non-native species could “boost biodiversity.”
One commenter wrote: “You deleted the post because you were criticized for claiming these non-native fish can enrich biodiversity... You’re not fooling us.”
Other comments said the office should have consulted ecological experts to avoid adversely affecting the local ecosystem.
Yuli Township Mayor Kung Wen-chung (龔文俊) pushed back against the criticism, saying that both species came from Hualien’s Aquaculture Breeding Institute and were genetically improved varieties that would not harm the environment.
Koi fish, for instance, consume the eggs of golden apple snails — an invasive species known for damaging crops — while red Nile tilapia is a common aquaculture species in ponds and rivers across Taiwan, Kung said.
The township also kept red Nile tilapia in 2018, only for visitors to catch them, prompting the office to request that the public refrain from fishing in the pond, Kung said.
Huang Wen-bin (黃文彬), a professor at National Dong Hwa University’s College of Environmental Studies and Oceanography, said that from an ecological perspective, introducing non-endemic species into the wild is inappropriate.
Huang commended the township for its desire to create a more attractive environment for visitors, but said heavy rain or flooding could allow the fish to escape and affect other ecosystems.
Huang said that he did not think they were likely to threaten native species, as their vibrant colors made them easy targets for predators, making it hard for them to survive in the wild.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
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
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