The navy took delivery of a new Perry-class missile frigate from the Kaohsiung-based China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC) yesterday.
Vice President Annette Lu (
During the ceremony, CSBC chairman Hsu Chiang (
Naval officers then hoisted the national flag on the ship and decorated it with the navy's emblem to mark the commissioning of the frigate.
The new warship is named after Tien Tan, a general during the Warring States period (475BC to 221BC).
The Tien Tan is the eighth and last Perry-class frigate that CSCB had been commissioned to build for the navy under a fleet-modernization program launched in the early 1990s.
Lu said the smooth completion of the frigate construction program marks a remarkable achievement in the pursuit of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in national defense.
"I'm convinced that the addition of the Tien Tan to the naval fleet will beef up the navy's defense capabilities to ensure stability and security in the Taiwan Strait," Lu said.
Hsu said the CSBC signed a contract with the navy in August 2000 to build the Tien Tan and that construction had proceeded smoothly since it began in February, 2001.
The 3,447 tonne Perry-class frigate is armed with many sophisticated weapons, including an advanced radar system, torpedoes, depth charges and Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles. It can also be equipped with two anti-submarine helicopters.
The seven CSBC-built Perry-class frigates are the backbone of the navy's second-generation fleet.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data