Shuri Castle Rebuild and Amazon Oil Ban

Hey everyone, it's time for a new episode of News Bites… I'm Brody Halverson… And I'm Paz Bueno. Today's stories… Taiwan helps rebuild a castle, and people vote to protect the Amazon. And in today's Tasty Tidbit: How old is the Earth? Keep on listening to find out! Let's get into it. ________________________________ 台灣幫忙重建沖繩的城堡 Taiwan Helps Rebuild Okinawa Castle Have you ever been to Okinawa (沖繩)? It's an island, not far from Taiwan. Lots of tourists visit Okinawa. The island has beautiful beaches and a special culture. They also have lots of history. They even have an old castle (古老城堡). That's where the king and Queen used to live. Unfortunately, the castle was burned down in a fire (火災) a few years ago. But people in Okinawa are building it again (重建), and Taiwan is helping. What happened? It all started more than six hundred years ago. At that time, Okinawa was a part of the Ryukyu kingdom (琉球王國). This was an ocean kingdom of many islands. They controlled the ocean trading between China and Japan. So, the Ryukyu kingdom became rich. They built a big castle on Okinawa, called Shuri Castle (首里城). The castle was red and white. 琉球王國在沖繩建設首里城，後來成為日本的一部分。 Later, the Ryukyu kingdom became a part of Japan. The Japanese took good care of Shuri castle. But, eighty years ago, the castle was destroyed in World War Two. 那座城堡在第二次世界大戰中被摧毀。 That's where Taiwan comes into the story. After the war, the Japanese wanted to rebuild Shuri castle. For the castle's wood, they used trees from Taiwan. The tree is called "Taiwan Cypress" (台灣檜木), and its wood is beautiful and very strong. But, the rebuilt castle did not last long. In 2019, Shuri castle was destroyed again, this time in a fire! Now, Taiwan is helping rebuild the castle… again. Taiwan is giving more "Taiwan Cypress" trees to Japan. The trees come from a forest in Yilan. 城堡再度毀於火災，於是台灣捐助宜蘭的檜木來幫日本重建。 How much will Japan pay for the trees? Nothing! The trees are a gift, to thank Japan for giving vaccines to Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan thanked Taiwan, and said the gift shows the friendship between the two countries. Now, they can finish rebuilding Shuri Castle. They say it will be done by 2026. If you go to Okinawa, be sure to visit it! ________________________________ 厄瓜多投票保護亞馬遜雨林 Ecuador Votes to Protect Amazon Rainforest What is the world's biggest forest? This forest is in South America (南美洲). It's more than 5 million square kilometers, and is home to more than 16,000 species. Have you guessed it? That's right, it's the Amazon Rainforest (亞馬遜雨林). Even though it's the biggest forest in the world, with so many kinds of plants and animals, the Amazon is in danger. Many companies are working in the Amazon, cutting down trees or polluting the environment there. 有很多公司在亞馬遜雨林伐木，而且污染環境。 But, there is some good news from Ecuador (厄瓜多), where people have voted to protect one part of the Amazon. A big part of the Amazon is in Ecuador. That's where the Yasuni National Park is. The Yasuni National Park is special, because it is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. 亞蘇尼國家公園是世界上生物多樣性數一數二的地方。 That means it has the most different kinds of life. For example, just in this one park, there are nine different kinds of monkeys. But, Yasuni National Park was in danger. That's because there is a lot of oil (石油) in the ground under the park. Oil companies want to get it, and they were about to start drilling for oil in the park. 石油公司想要在公園裡鑽探石油。 Some people in Ecuador wanted to drill for oil, to earn more money. Other people in Ecuador wanted to ban oil drilling, to protect the environment (保護環境). So, the people decided to vote on it. In the vote, 60% of people said that oil drilling should be banned in Yasuni National Park. 百分之六十的厄瓜多公民，投票贊成禁止在公園裡鑽探石油。 Many people who live in the forest were happy with the result. Especially the indigenous people (原住民), who have lived in the Amazon for longer than anybody. One indigenous leader said, "Finally, we are going to kick oil companies out of our territory!" She added, "This is a major victory for all Indigenous peoples, for the animals, the plants, the spirits of the forest and our climate!" ________________________________ So, in today's newsbites… Taiwan has helped rebuild a castle on Okinawa. Shuri castle burned down a few years ago. Taiwan is sending some Taiwan Cypress trees to help build the castle again. ________________________________ And, People in Ecuador voted to stop oil drilling in one part of the Amazon rainforest. 60% of people there said oil companies should be banned from the forest. The Amazon is one of the most biodiverse parts of our world. ________________________________ 趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit How old is the Earth? Well, scientists think it's about 4.5 billion years old… 差不多四十五億歲！ For hundreds of years, scientists have looked at rocks on Earth, on the moon, and everywhere in-between, to understand how space rocks came together to make our planet, around four and a half billion years ago. So, I guess the next question is… how old will the Earth get? Scientists say our planet may have around five billion years left, before the sun gets bigger and eats it… CHOMP But as the sun gets hotter, all the living things on Earth may only have one billion years left. If that sounds like bad news, don't worry! That means we have at least one billion years to start living in space, and find other planets. That should be enough time, right? If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode! We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!