Council of Agriculture Chairman Lee Chin-lung (李金龍) said yesterday he takes pride in seeing Taiwan-grown rice make successful inroads into Japan.
Lee made the remarks while presiding over a ceremony at Kaohsiung Harbor in southern Taiwan, marking the delivery of 90 tonnes of "Fuli" rice (富麗米) grown in the eastern county of Hualien to Japan.
Noting that Japan has imposed extremely stringent standards in rice quality examination, Lee said the export of Fuli rice to Japan is a source of pride for Taiwan, as the nation has been successful in meeting those standards.
It was the second shipment of Fuli rice to Japan, following an initial shipment of 18 tonnes in October of this year. With the October shipment receiving an enthusiastic response from Japanese consumers, Lee said, Japanese importers placed an additional order for 90 tonnes of Fuli rice.
Lee said the export volume is expected to reach 300 tonnes next year.
Taiwan last exported rice to Japan in 1971. The resumption of rice exports to Japan indicates that the quality of locally grown rice has received foreign recognition and that the government's response measures to cope with the impact of Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization have been appropriate, Lee said.
The Fuli rice was grown in the unpolluted upper stretch of the Hsiukuluan Creek in Hualien using organic farming methods, Lee said.
He also added that the organic rice has "a wonderful taste and texture."
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), a subsidiary of Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), yesterday said it is again offering a NT$100,000 discount for its entry-level n7 electric vehicle models. The n7’s price has gone down from NT$1.099 million to NT$999,000, Luxgen said, adding that there are 25,000 preorders for the model. MG Motor’s electric hatchback, the MG4, entered the market in the middle of last month, with a starting price of NT$990,000. China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which distributes MG vehicles in Taiwan, said it aims to sell 1,600 MG4s this year. MG, originally a British brand, was acquired by China’s SAIC Motor
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK