Chinese authorities plan to start a second cruise ship link to the disputed Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) in the South China Sea, Chinese state media reported yesterday, in a move that might irk Taiwan and Vietnam, as both nations also claim the islets.
China began cruises on the Coconut Princess on a trial basis from the southern island province of Hainan in 2013. More than 10,000 tourists have taken trips so far, the China Daily reported.
Officials hope a second ship will be in operation before the end of the year, and that more islands can be opened up for visits, the report said.
Those include Woody Island (Yongxing Island, 永興島), where the Chinese government seat for administering the Paracels is located.
However, weather and poor facilities could hamper tourism efforts. The Paracels are often hit by typhoons and strong winds, the newspaper said.
“We need to take into account the capacity of the islets to handle tourists. Cruise ships cannot dock on some of them and the tourists have to be taken ashore by smaller ships,” Xie Zanliang, head of a government tourism company promoting trips to the Paracels, told the newspaper.
The deployment last year of a Chinese oil rig near the Paracels sparked a standoff with Vietnam and anti-Chinese riots.
China claims 90 percent of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also state claims to parts of the sea, through which passes about US$5 trillion of trade per year.
Vietnam last month said it would offer its own cruises to the disputed Spratly archipelago (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) — which Taiwan also claims — which lies south of the Paracels, a move that sparked anger from China.
Nations competing to cement their rival claims have encouraged a growing civilian presence on disputed islands.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique