Council of Agriculture Minister Lee Ching-lung (
Lee said the movement of the pandas from China to Taiwan was an issue for conservationists and other specialists, and that the council would not attach any preconditions to a transfer.
After former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
Taiwan is a member of the global village, Lee said, and should abide by international animal conservation regulations.
If the Chinese government officially proposed sending pandas to Taiwan, the council would demand from Beijing a panda export permit issued by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Lee said.
As Taiwan has never hosted pandas, the council has maintained a cautious attitude, inviting local and overseas experts to evaluate which organization or zoo is capable of providing the animals with appropriate care.
As soon as Beijing applies to export the pandas, the evaluation team will begin its work. If necessary, Taiwanese officials could visit China to better understand the animals' requirements.
Taipei has been making a great effort to be awarded the right to house the pandas, Lee said, and he stressed that he would be very glad to discuss the issue with Ma.
Officials from a KMT think tank and the Taipei Zoo left for Sichuan Province on Friday to attend a "panda symposium," triggering a battle between Taipei and Taichung to secure the animals.
CLONING
Meanwhile, Lee said Taiwan had scored a major breakthrough in animal cloning by successfully cloning an "economic animal."
After years of effort, Lee said, the council had succeeded in using somatic cells to clone the animal that reportedly has economic and medicinal value.
Lee claimed that the council-developed technology is unique.
However, he would not reveal what kind of animal had been cloned. He only said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will "solve the riddle" early next month, and that the animals were neither dogs nor cats and of great potential value.
He further said the cloned animals are edible and safe, adding that they are not genetically modified and have instead been reproduced from somatic cells.
Lee said the council had done all the research itself, but some of the team members had also traveled to Britain for training.
"It took seven to eight years to come to this point at a cost of less than NT$100 million [US$3.1 million]. Thanks to the orientation of our research, we have made tremendous headway," Lee said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS