A local leader on one of the small islet groups of Penghu is threatening to "mortgage" the islets to China for a loan if Taiwan's central government continues to ignore the township's financial woes.
Hsu Lung-fu (許龍富), mayor of Wang-an township (望安), said his administration was now NT$20 million in debt. The Penghu County government has offered a NT$5 million subsidy, which Hsu said was inadequate.
According to the Chinese-language media, Hsu also threatened to hold a referendum on whether to break away from Taiwan and sell some of the islets to gaming syndicates seeking sites for casinos.
Hsu has already shut down a shuttle boat service run by the township administration, effectively cutting off transport links between Wang-an and the main islands of Penghu. A township-owned ice factory has also closed, creating a shortage of ice for fishermen.
According to TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
Asked by Chen whether Hsu had the authority to "mortgage" his township to China, Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) said Hsu was only talking about it at the moment.
When asked about the PRC flag, Yu said Hsu was free to hang the PRC flag in his own office but that he would be breaking the law if he flew the flag in public.
Taipower (台電) and Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) were scheduled to cut off power and telephone lines yesterday to the township administration office, which hasn't paid its bills for three months. However, the two companies decided to keep the services working after news about Hsu's protests appeared in the local media.
Nevertheless, Hsu yesterday shut off power to the township office and cut the phone lines, forcing the office's staff to work on paper instead of computers.
Located about 20km south of Makung, the capital of Penghu County, Wang-an township consists of the main Wang-an islet, about 7km2, and a number of smaller islets. Wang-an has a total population of about 2,000.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)