The Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute said yesterday it was working to prevent the extinction of an endangered plant that is endemic to Taiwan.
The plant, a freshwater perennial species that is edible, is now mostly found on private land and is on the verge of disappearance because of pollution, it said.
The water taro, or Aponogeton taiwanensis Masamune, has floating oblong leaves and tuberous roots about 2cm to 4cm long. Farmers used to eat these tubers as snacks, said elderly residents of Cingshuei (清水) in Taichung County, where the plant was commonly found in the past.
However, recent research in Cingshuei by the institute showed that the aquatic plant is now quite rare and can be found only in small populations, mainly on farms where herbicides and pesticides are not used, a researcher said.
The institute hopes that through propagation experiments and relocation, it can save the plant from extinction, as its habitats are being destroyed by pesticides and herbicides, he said.
So far, the plants being tended by the institute have been growing well and the institute plans to cultivate the species on a wider scale and promote it as a food crop, the researcher said.
Aponogeton taiwanensis Masamune is a small plant that is easy to cultivate once it gets sufficient water and is grown under the right conditions, he said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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