Taiwan is to donate five red cypress logs to assist Japan with rebuilding Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
At least seven buildings, including the main structure at the World Heritage Site burned down, likely due to an electrical fault, in October 2019.
Japan asked about the possibility of Taiwan donating timber from its plantations, as the original castle was built with Taiwanese cypress, the ministry said in a news release.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Taiwan has long banned logging in natural forest areas, the ministry said, adding that its plantations are managed by the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency.
The conservation agency regularly thins the forest to maintain an ecological balance, and the thinned timber is stored in lumber yards, the ministry said.
The government has agreed to donate five of the red cypress logs that were thinned in 2020 to Japan, in compliance with regulations governing exports of forest products, the ministry said.
In 2020, Taiwan’s plantations produced 256.98m3 of red cypress, and the five logs donated to Japan would total about 3.86m3, it added.
The donation would not affect the market for Taiwanese red cypress or environmental protection efforts, the ministry added.
The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association would sign a donation agreement, after which Japan would apply to the agency for a document of approval to export the timber and complete the customs declaration process, it said.
In December 2019, the government donated ￥3.5 million (US$24,519) and the Ryukyu Overseas Chinese Association based in Okinawa donated ￥2 million to help rebuild Shuri Castle, it said.
When Taiwan was battling its worst COVID-19 outbreak during the pandemic, Japan donated 4.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the nation, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s donation of cypress timber demonstrates the profound friendship between Taiwan and Japan, it said.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday held an equipment installation ceremony for its first 2-nanometer fab in Kaohsiung, six months ahead of schedule, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “To cope with the strong global demand for advanced chips, TSMC is to start moving in equipment for its first-ever 2-nanometer fab half a year earlier than scheduled,” Chen said at an question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council. TSMC’s 2-nanometer process technology would help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications as well as the transformation of local industries in Kaohsiung, Chen said in a
TEAM TAIWAN: While lawmakers proposed declaring Nov. 24 a national day, the CPBL commissioner urged the legislature to pass the budget for sports development Lawmakers yesterday proposed designating Nov. 24 as National Baseball Day and updating the design of the NT$500 bill to honor the national team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship on Sunday, as thousands of fans came out to see the players parade down the streets of Taipei. Players, coaches and staff from the national team returned home on Monday night after achieving their best-ever performance in an international baseball tournament. After receiving a rapturous welcome at the airport, the players turned out yesterday for a street parade in front of thousands of adoring fans waving Taiwanese flags and
RSS