Taiwan’s new poinsettia variety, named “cupid” (愛神), has adapted better than imported competitors to this year's weather, the Department of Horticulture at National Chung Hsing University said today.
The warm season has delayed other poinsettias from turning red, but this new variety is unaffected and ready for the holiday season, the university said in a news release.
Taiwan produces 1.3 million poinsettias annually, generating NT$200 million (US$6.15 million) in sales, it said.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s growing areas include Taoyuan, Miaoli County’s Jhuolan Township (卓蘭) and Puli Township (埔里) in Nantou County, but most cultivated varieties are imported from abroad and carry high royalty payments, it said.
Not only is Taiwan’s local market dependent on other countries, but not all imported poinsettias successfully adapt to the local climate, it added.
The Flower Innovation and Breeding Research Center inside the department has developed various types of poinsettias through techniques like mutation breeding, cross-pollination and single-plant selection, the university said.
The center, led by horticulture assistant professor Chen Yan-ming (陳彥銘), has developed other varieties of poinsettias, it said.
Cupid, in addition to adapting well to Taiwan’s climate, fits a wide range of pots and is easier to cultivate, helping farmers maximize potential revenue, it said.
Compared with imported plants in the same conditions, cupid poinsettias showed no delay in turning red, suggesting it can help Taiwan’s farmers become more internationally competitive, it said.
This also shows the importance of reducing reliance on imports and investing in Taiwan’s own agricultural innovations, it added.
Since first being developed in 2020, cupid poinsettias have won awards from the Taiwan Potted Flower Development Association for five straight years, the only domestically developed plant to do so.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS