Penghu sea urchins now enjoyed year-round

Penghu sea urchins now enjoyed year-round

2024-07-19

Many tourists travel to Penghu during the summer holidays and visit restaurants to try local sea urchins. Penghu’s wild sea urchins aren’t cheap, and there are catching restrictions, so demand often exceeds supply. But now there are sea urchin farms, allowing people visiting the archipelago to enjoy the seafood year-round.

These round, spiky sea urchins look fresh and appetizing. Many people travel to Penghu during summer vacation, seizing the chance to visit local restaurants and try them fresh.

Restaurant staff open the urchins one at a time. Each one is worth a fair amount. Ones 8 to 9 centimeters are NT$300, slightly bigger ones are NT$400 to NT$500, and the biggest are up to NT$600.

Store owner
There are more sea urchins this year because it was a warm winter. Last year it was too cold.

Sea urchins are cheaper at the fish market. Eight-centimeter ones start around NT$80. But it’s not easy to cook them at home.

Wild sea urchins can be caught from July 1 to Aug. 31 every year. But demand often exceeds supply, so the Penghu government hopes that farm-raised sea urchin can replace wild ones. This year, sea urchin farms were much more stable.

Ko Chih-hung
Sea urchin farm director
They can be enjoyed this year, there just aren’t so many. But farm-raised sea urchins were on the market before July 1. They can be sold and enjoyed year-round.

While wild ones can only be caught from July 1 to Aug. 31, farm-raised sea urchins can be harvested at any time. Now people can enjoy fresh sea urchins in Penghu throughout the year.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

澎湖馬糞海膽鮮甜可口養殖技術突破有望"全年吃得到"

2024-07-19

許多遊客會趁著暑假期間到澎湖馬公旅遊，也會特地到餐廳品嘗當地的馬糞海膽，澎湖野生的馬糞海膽雖然價格不便宜，而且還有採捕限制，但依然是常常供不應求，因此現在也有種苗繁殖場養殖海膽，如果順利的話，民眾到澎湖旅遊就能夠不限時間，品嘗好吃的馬糞海膽。

一顆顆球狀帶刺的馬糞海膽泡在水中，看起來新鮮又美味，許多遊客趁著假期來到澎湖遊玩，都會把握機會到餐廳嘗鮮，吃吃看馬糞海膽的鮮甜滋味。

工作人員一顆接著一顆剖開海膽，不過馬糞海膽的價格可不便宜，8到9公分的一顆就要300元，大一點的還要400到500元，更大的甚至還要600元。

[[老闆]]
“（海膽）比去年還多一點，因為今年是暖冬，去年是有寒害。”

選擇到漁市場採買的話，海膽價格就便宜許多，8公分的海膽從80元起跳，但是要自己處理恐怕就不是太容易。

澎湖野生的馬糞海膽每年7月1日到8月31日開放採捕，但其實常常都是供不應求，因此澎湖縣政府希望能以人工養殖取代野生採捕，種苗繁殖場今年養殖海膽的情況，也相當穩定。

[[種苗繁殖場場長柯志鴻]]
“今年其實都吃得到，只是今年量比較少。7月1號之前其實就已經有海膽在上市，養殖的海膽他是可以上市的，養殖的海膽是全年都可以賣的，全年都吃得到。”

養殖海膽就不受7月1日才能採捕的限制，如此一來民眾就能不受限制，一年四季都能品嘗海膽的鮮甜美味。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Related News

Trump’s remarks provoke talk of raising Taiwan’s defense budget

Remarks made by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense have sent shockwaves across the island. In the latest, Robert O’Brien, who served as national security advisor under Trump said he believed his former boss meant that he wanted Taiwan to contribute more to its own defense, and even raise its military expenditures to 5% of the GDP. Looking at Taiwan’s 2024 defense budget of NT$606.8 billion, it only stands at 2.5% of the GDP. In contrast, other nations that are threatened by their neighbors such as Korea and Israel spend 2.8% and 5% respectively. One leading military scholar says Taiwan still has room to increase its military spending.

Robert O’Brien (2023)
Former White House National Security Advisor
We’ve got 18 billion dollars of arms sales approved for Taiwan and we need to get those systems delivered now and not wait for them.

Robert O’Brien, who served as national security advisor under former president Donald Trump, visited Taiwan last year, where he stressed that arms sales projects with Taiwan should not be delayed. Recently, Trump said that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense. O’Brien interprets this to mean Trump thinks Taiwan should make more fiscal contributions to its own defense. O’Brien believes the free world is now aware of China’s threat and Taiwan should consider increasing its defense spending to at least 5% of its GDP.

Taiwan’s annual defense budget has actually been increasing incrementally over recent years. It started out at NT$349.7 billion in 2016, NT$355.7 billion in 2017, and exceeded NT$400 billion in 2020. Last year, it soared to NT$580.3 billion and this year it hit a new high of NT$606.8 billion. Taiwan’s defense spending as a proportion of its GDP has increased from a previous 2% to 2.5% this year.

However, military analysts still believe that compared with other nations that are threatened by neighboring countries, such as Israel and South Korea, Taiwan’s defense budget indeed has more room for growth.

Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
In the international community, there is a very important thing: all for one, one for all. It’s also if I help myself, others will help me. Compared with other countries facing threats, such as Israel, its defense budget is 5% of GDP, Singapore’s stands at 3% and South Korea’s is between 2.8% and 2.9%. This shows that our own defense budget indeed still has room for a reasonable increase. Trump’s so-called charging Taiwan insurance fees and alleging that Taiwan steals America’s chip business may be an oversimplification. What he should be talking about is the responsibilities for allies for self-defense.

Since former president Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, each year there had been no shortage of major arms purchases from the U.S. Many in U.S. political circles reckon that if Trump returns to the White House, there is a high chance that O’Brien will return as White House national security advisor. This is bound to affect the direction of Taiwan-U.S. arms deals.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-07-19

Odd-lot trading volume soars after TSMC shares fall below NT$1,000

2024-07-19

Five year survey on immigrants in Taiwan finds 92.1% of them are happy with their lives

Today, the Ministry of Interior held a press conference to announce the results of a national survey on the living needs of immigrants. It turned out that more than 92% of new immigrants felt happy in Taiwan. One such happy new resident is a Singaporean national who is running a thriving coffee shop in New Taipei.

Ming Kai Lua
Singaporean immigrant
Actually many people will ask me, why do you want to settle in Taiwan? I think this question is like a young couple asking each other, what’s the thing you really love about me? When this happens, of course you have to answer, of course it’s everything.

Taiwanese immigrant Ming Kai Lua came to Taiwan from Singapore five years ago. Not only has he settled down in Taiwan, but he’s also opened up a cafe. Along the way, in addition to feeling the warmth of Taiwanese people, he also wants to thank the government for doing its utmost to care for new immigrants.

Ming Kai Lua
Singaporean immigrant
I think the most important thing is that everyone here respects different voices and ideas. I think this is something that touches me very much.

Liu Shyh-fang
Minister of the Interior
I have told many foreign friends that coming to Taiwan is not just tourism and travel. Taiwan is a treasure island. We hope that in Taiwan you can live here often or permanently or that even your children can become genuine new Taiwanese in Taiwan.

The Ministry of Interior held a press conference to announce the results of a five-yearly national survey on the living needs of new immigrants. The number of people who have immigrated to Taiwan through marriage has reached nearly 600,000. The overall labor participation rate is 75%, which is significantly higher than the 59.2% of Taiwanese. As much as 94.8% of immigrants were satisfied with their current jobs, and 92.1% were very happy with their life in Taiwan.

Liu Shyh-fang
Minister of the Interior
For current immigrants, of course the main important issue is their rights and interests. But in the future, if they plan to become Republic of China nationals, there are other laws involved, such as the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.

Recently the TPP and KMT took advantage of their parliamentary majority to pass a “special law for new residents.” Observers have voiced concerns that lumping together Chinese spouses and immigrants from other areas could erode laws governing cross-strait relations. Regarding these concerns, Liu said that their naturalization would still be subject to existing laws governing cross-strait relations.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-07-19

Alishan Forest Railway reopens in full after 15 years of difficult repair work

2024-07-19

Okinawan marching band delights crowds with flash performance at Taipei 101

A marching band from Okinawa gave a sneak preview at Taipei 101 of their upcoming concert. They were the young musicians from Nishihara Senior High, who have been invited to perform at the Presidential Office Concert on Saturday evening at Liberty Square. The flash performance attracted a sizeable crowd who braved the scorching sun to enjoy the show.

Seventy-one young musicians from Nishihara Senior High School in Okinawa are here at Taipei 101 for a flash show.

Even under the scorching sun, they play their instruments with a broad smile. Among the audience were members of Taipei First Girls’ High School marching band, which previously performed with Japan’s Orange Devils. They had only praise for the performers.

Student
Taipei First Girls’ High School
I’m in the marching band, I play the French horn. They are all super nice, and put feeling into it. It makes for a very enjoyable performance you can immerse yourself in.

Student
Taipei First Girls’ High School
They are really enjoying it, their smiles are full of energy. When you smile back at them, they give you an even brighter smile in return. I can feel a sense of hope from their performance.

The Okinawan marching band has won many contests in Japan, and even clinched a championship title at the World Music Competition in the Netherlands. This time, the school is bringing a taste of Okinawa to Taiwan, with formations and transitions that allow Taiwanese audiences to feel closer to the performers. Many people came to the site early to secure a spot to watch the flash show.

Audience member
It’s adorable. They are so nice! The performance is lovely, super cute.

Audience member
We came early. Of course seeing the performance in person is something else. It was great. We’re going to go to Yuanshan to catch the other flash show. We tried to speak with them in broken Japanese and we took photos together!

The marching band is in Taiwan at the invite of the General Association of Chinese Culture, to perform at the Presidential Office Concert on Saturday evening, joined by the cheerleading squad from Shih Hsin University. Their moving music will bring together the people of Taiwan and Japan, while celebrating Taiwan’s Olympic team.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-07-19

Chaos and disruptions reported around the world amid Microsoft IT outage

2024-07-19

Program in Indonesia helps refugees from Asia and Africa resettle

Indonesia has become a temporary home for thousands of refugees from Asia and Africa. Voice of America’s Dave Grunebaum reports from Cisarua [chi-sa-ROO-ah], Indonesia, on a program that helps these displaced people prepare for the lives that lie ahead of them.

In these classrooms in Cisarua, Indonesia, 85 young refugees learn subjects from science to English to math.

Academically qualified students can even join an online program and work towards a U.S. high school diploma. It’s happening at the Cisarua Refugee Learning Center. Cisaura is a few hours drive from Indonesia’s biggest city, Jakarta, and hosts about 1,300 refugees, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Afnaan Guleid is a 13-year-old whose family fled Somalia. She says her family worried about violence back in their homeland. But here, she can focus on her dreams.

Afnaan Guleid
Student refugee from Somalia
I want to be a scientist when I grow up because I love to do experiments and discover things by myself.

The facilities are very basic. This learning center is funded entirely from private donations, mostly from international donors. All of the teachers are volunteers, and many are refugees themselves. Students and their families fled violence or persecution in countries in Asia and Africa.

Reza Hussa
Learning center principal
Students from different cultures. Students from different religions. Students from different countries. When they come here, I’m sure there is a diversity of culture here.

Zahra Sakhawat is a 12-year-old student from Afghanistan. She says this learning center builds a sense of community.

Zahra Sakhawat
Student refugee from Afghanistan
The community is very good because everyone is very kind and dear with each other.

The United Nations refugee agency says that currently, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are accepting refugees who are staying in Indonesia but the process typically takes at least seven years and placement is not guaranteed. While Indonesia allows refugees to enroll in public schools, the Cisarua Refugee Learning Center offers its students a chance to focus on their English which is a skill they’ll need if they’re resettled.

Reza Hussa
Learning center principal
We are trying to prepare them for the next country that they are going.

The Cisarua Refugee Learning Center opened a decade ago and has become a model for similar refugee programs that have started elsewhere in the country to help young refugees prepare for the future.

Dave Grunebaum, VOA News, Cisarua, Indonesia.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-07-19

Swimming pools adopt strategies to keep water cool

2024-07-19

First tropical storm predicted to strike Taiwan could form within next 72 hours

2024-07-19