Channel-crossing teams from Taiwan and China are planning to come together to attempt to swim across the Taiwan Strait, a challenging task even for seasoned swimmers, a Hong Kong source reported yesterday.
The Hong Kong daily Ming Pao reported that Chinese swimmer Zhang Jian (張健), a lecturer with the Beijing University of Physical Education, has contacted Taiwan's renowned channel-crossing swimmer Wang Han (王瀚) several times in recent years with the idea of initiating a crossing attempt of the Taiwan Strait by swimmers from both sides.
The plan to swim across the Taiwan Strait has become a more and more feasible idea recently with the steady increase in the frequency and acceptance of cross-strait private exchanges despite the political impasse between the two sides, Zhang told the Hong Kong newspaper.
According to Zhang, who last August swam across northern China's Pohai, a gulf located on the Yellow Sea, and who is scheduled to take on the English Channel this July, Wang has set the autumn of 2002 as the time when the planned joint crossing by Wang and Zhang and their two teams of swimmers will take place.
Zhang told Ming Pao that crossing the 210km-wide Taiwan Strait alone is physically and politically impossible for any swimmer in the world to complete because of the unpredictable sea conditions as well as the political stalemate between Taiwan and China. He added that relay swimming would be a viable way of making the crossing.
Wang, who was also interviewed by Ming Pao reporters, said that technically, the Taiwan Strait crossing becomes a 400km crossing when the seasonal currents (which change once about every six hours) are factored in to the actual cross-strait swimming distance.
Wang noted that a point between Taoyuan County and Hsinchu County would be a good location from where to set out on the long-distance swim, adding that the ideal spot on the Chinese side has yet to be decided.
The northeastern monsoon season, from October through April, is not a suitable time for an attempted crossing of the Taiwan Strait, Wang said, adding that water temperature, sharks, physical exhaustion and seasickness are other factors that must be overcome for a successful crossing.
None of these physical factors, however, is as challenging as the political impasse across the Taiwan Strait, he lamented.
Wang, the first swimmer from Taiwan to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar and the first to conquer the English Channel, said he has been planning to challenge the Taiwan Strait for 10 years.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS