Photographer and film director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), best known for his 2013 documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣), shocked fans when he was recently reportedly found to be in possession of endangered turtles.
Police said that Chi in July posted pictures on Facebook of the turtles, which netizens identified as yellow pond turtles — an endangered species — and promptly notified the authorities.
Police said they showed the photographs to experts at Taipei Zoo, who confirmed that the turtles are class-2 endangered animals.
Photo: courtesy of Taipei Police Department
Officials from the Taipei City Animal Protection Office went to Chi’s residence to investigate, but did not find the director.
After receiving permission from Chi’s parents to enter his home, the officials found and seized 11 Chinese box turtles, also known as yellow-margined box turtles, and two yellow pond turtles.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), people planning to keep or raise protected animals must apply for a permit with local authorities.
Failure to do so will result in fines of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 as well as seizure of the animals.
The animal protection office said Chi is out of the country, but it will arrange a date later for Chi to appear in court and explain the incident.
Tseng Chiung-yao (曾瓊瑤), the producer of Chi’s films, on Thursday said that Chi’s parents love to hike and tend to pick up animals they find on trails.
They have been raising those turtles for more than 10 years and Chi’s post of the turtles’ pictures on Facebook is proof that the family was not aware they are endangered animals, Tseng said.
Police said the parents claimed the turtles were Chi’s and that he began raising them after his pet dog died.
Chi’s parents did not know where the turtles came from, they added.
According to Forestry Bureau statistics, over the past three years conservation officials had seized 6,800 Chinese box turtles, while more than 5,000 yellow pond turtles had been smuggled to China.
Bureau officials said one yellow pond turtle can fetch more than NT$10,000, making them particularly vulnerable to smugglers.
The bureau advised the public to check its Web site for a list of endangered species to avoid unintentional violations and fines.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by