After more than a year's effort, state-run China Shipbuilding Corp has overcome many of the technical difficulties of building submarines and is winning confidence from the US in its bid to build some of the eight conventional submarines that the US promised to acquire for Taiwan two years ago, the company's officials said yesterday.
China Shipbuilding has completed a section of a submarine hull to prove it is capable of building submarines. The section, which comes from the stern, is considered to be the most difficult part to build.
A US government delegation that came to Taiwan recently was greatly impressed by the hull section when they visited China Shipbuilding's Kaohsiung headquarters.
Hsu Chiang (
"They came to see how our indigenous defense submarine pro-ject was going and we showed them our achievements. We convinced them with our data," Hsu said.
"The roundness measurement of the pressure hull section we have completed shows that it has reached international standards in the average diameter deviation and radius deviation. They were quite impressed," Hsu said.
The recognition from the US government delegation was a boon to the company, which has been fighting for the right to participate in the submarine project since it was announced.
Under the plan, China Shipbuilding would observe construction of the first two submarines, build parts of the next four and then build the seventh and eighth entirely.
The indigenous defense submarine project is reminiscent of the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), a Taiwan-built plane that took two decades to develop.
But the navy is unconvinced that China Shipbuilding is up to the job.
Even Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Nevertheless, over the past year, China Shipbuilding has overcome many technical difficulties, such as the supply of high-grade steel for the hull and a wide range of welding skills needed to build the pressure hull.
The company admits, however, that there is still a long way to go.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
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Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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