The Coast Guard Administration plans to lease a second helicopter from a civil-aviation company this year to strengthen its search, rescue and surveillance capabilities, sources said.
The first leased helicopter, a commercial model with night-vision capabilities, has been very useful over the past year in executing dangerous rescue missions in rough seas.
It was also the first to take photos of a Chinese spy ship which intruded into Taiwan's waters off Orchid Island last fall.
The photos provided information to the military about what the spy ship might be capable of doing.
Administration director Wang Chun (王郡) said in a recent meeting with the press that besides helicopters, the administration also plans to lease fixed-wing aircraft.
Wang did not say what kind of aircraft or how many of them the administration wants to lease.
A lack of money and pilots will probably prevent the administration leasing any aircraft for at least a few weeks, however.
An official with the administration, who declined to be identified, said the administration is still studying what kind of aircraft would be most suitable.
"The study might last for some time, since we want to use the least possible money to get the greatest benefit," the official said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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