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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ TRANSPORT

THSRC plans more stations

The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) is working on plans to add three stations, including one in Changhua, to its existing eight stations, a Changhua County Government task force said. The task force, headed by Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), held a meeting with THSRC executives and officials from the Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail to discuss whether the plan might be realized at an early date to meet the county's development needs. THSRC executives said the initial planning of the three stations in Changhua, Yunlin and Miaoli will be completed by the end of June. Hu Hsiang-lin (胡湘麟), deputy director of the Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail, said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would like to see the three stations become operational at the same time, and that the ministry would do its best to provide assistance to the local governments.



■ TECHNOLOGY

Building safety breakthrough

Researchers at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology have developed an earthquake-resistant structure component for buildings that they say is easily installed and offers superior protection in the event of a tremor. Chen Sheng-jin (陳希舜), a professor in the university's Department of Construction and Engineering, said yesterday that the new component had been shown to outperform conventional components in terms of its ability to absorb seismic waves and so protect buildings. Chen said the new component could endure a shear deformation angle of more than 16 degrees, far greater than required under building safety standards. He said this would help to protect buildings during even severe earthquakes. In a test, Chen said, the new component, combined with high-strength beams, had kept a building intact through a lateral displacement of 6 degrees, bettering the requirement of between 2 degrees to 4 degrees. The university's research team is studying how to integrate the component with shear walls, Chen said.



■ DIPLOMACY

AIT chairman to visit

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt will arrive in Taipei tomorrow for a brief visit. He will meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and other major political figures, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). It will be Burghardt's third trip to Taiwan since his appointment as the AIT's chairman in February.



■ HEALTH

Kiribati patients doing well

The surgery performed on three Kiribati women who arrived in Taiwan last month to have treatment for rheumatic heart disease has been successful, a doctor at the Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei said yesterday. The hospital threw a party on Wednesday for the patients, heart specialist Lee Chun-yi (李君儀) said. The three patients have recovered well and will soon be able to return to Kiribati, Lee said. Nurses at the hospital have created posters with explanations in both Kiribati and Mandarin in an effort to provide a friendlier environment and to communicate better with the patients, Lee said. Mackay Memorial Hospital has a sisterhood agreement with the Tungaru Central Hospital in Kiribati.



■ TOURISM

Ocean park project inked

The Ilan County Government signed a contract on Tuesday with two private investors for the construction of an ocean park, officials said. The park, which will be located in Wuchieh Township (五結), will feature a polar animal zone -- the first of its kind in Taiwan -- and a 118m-long transparent, underwater tunnel that would be the world's longest. The NT$2.7 billion (US$83.6 million) project is being built jointly by Taiwan-based Turtle Mountain Island Ocean Development Co and KMzone Business Community of Malaysia, which has taken part in the development of several ocean parks in China. Construction of the park is scheduled to start in March, and the facility is expected to be open to the public in three years, officials said.



■ AGRICULTURE

Orange festival begins

A 31-day orange festival starts today in Yunlin County, home to a large proportion of the country's agricultural produce, Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) said yesterday. "The Council of Agriculture has been pondering how to increase the profits of orange growers in this area," council Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said, adding that this year's festival would offer a variety of interesting activities and seek to emulate France's orange festival in order to attract both buyers and tourists. Yunlin County is also well known for its coffee, seafood and puppet shows, Su Jia-chyuan said, expressing hope that the combination of the orange festival and local tourist attractions would help bring more benefit to farmers in the county. Su Chih-fen urged everyone to eat an orange a day which would not only benefit their health but also the nation's orange growers.
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