The Holiday Inn hotel chain may be slapped with a hefty fine for violation of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) after Chinese chef Zhang Xiao-chun (張小春) plucked and boiled a live chicken during a cooking demonstration at the Holiday Inn East Taipei earlier this month, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The council said the Taipei County Government was responsible for enforcing the law, which stipulates a maximum fine of NT$500,000 for violators.
The Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan, the nation's leading animal rights advocate group, said Zhang's action not only broke the law, but also provided a bad example for the public.
Hsu Kuai-sheng (許桂森), chief of the council's husbandry section, said the purpose of the law was to protect animal rights, not penalize violators.
Zhang's blunder could be the result of his lack of understanding of Taiwanese laws, especially as “in China, they still eat cats and dogs,” Hsu said.
Hsu said the central government's role was to enact the law, but added that it was up to the local government to enforce it.
In related news, two COA staffers killed in the line of duty, Chen Han-yuan (陳漢源) and Liu Chin-ying (劉金瑛), were enshrined yesterday in the Shoushan Martyrs' Shrine in Kaohsiung for their sacrifice during Typhoon Morakot rescue efforts.
The two lost their lives when they refused to leave Siaolin Village (小林村), which was eventually destroyed during the typhoon by mudslides and torrential rain.
Taitung police officers Chiang Wen-hsiang (江文祥) and Hsu Jin-tsu (?? were also enshrined at Taitung's Martyrs’ Shrine yesterday. Both officers lost their lives while helping residents evacuate from the Taimali River during last August’s flooding. The pair were washed away by the river and their bodies were never found.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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