Former Health and Promotion Administration (HPA) director-general Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) on Sunday urged smokers to stop littering, after she took a picture of a Formosan blue magpie seemingly mistaking a cigarette butt for food.
The bird was looking for something to eat near a river when it appeared to mistake the cigarette butt for food, said Chiou, a bird-watcher and photographer, adding that she hopes the image would raise awareness about littering.
The picture was taken in Qianshan Park in Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) area, which is an important habitat for the Formosan blue magpie, she added.
Photo courtesy of Chiou Shu-ti
The Formosan blue magpie, also known as the “long-tailed mountain lady,” is one of Taiwan’s 14 endemic bird species, and was named Taiwan’s national bird in 2007.
Fortunately, the magpie in the picture did not swallow the butt, otherwise there could have been severe consequences, as they contain toxic elements such as arsenic and lead, Chiou said.
Every year, up to 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered globally, and they are also the biggest contributor to marine pollution, she said, citing reports, adding that in 2000, the California Coastal Cleanup Day collected 230,000 cigarette butts in one day.
Chiou said that in 2014, when she was head of the HPA, she promoted a policy to designate smoking areas in parks, but cigarette butts can still be seen in parks across Taiwan.
Although butts thrown into the water, as opposed to the ground, are less likely to be eaten by animals, the water cycle can still bring them back to humans after they travel through underground pipes and the sea, she said.
International initiatives urge smokers to take responsibility for their trash by putting butts into a pocket ashtray, she said, adding that smokers in Taiwan should also work to reduce litter.
Huang Shu-ting (黃蜀婷), the head of a Tainan-based bird photography club, said she has long encouraged bird-watchers to be “frontline observers of the ecosystem” who raise awareness about environmental issues that they see.
Many bird-watchers participate in activities to clean mountains and beaches as part of their efforts to create a better living environment for birds, she added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS