In an attempt to study the structure of the earth's crust, the National Central University's Taiwan Integrated Geodynamics Research (TAIGER) explosives test plan was put into action early on Friday morning, involving a blast comparable to a 2.6 earthquake on the Richter scale.
The plan involved the university's Department of Earth Sciences exploding 750kg of plastic explosives on the side of Touchien River (頭前溪) in the Erchong (二重) area of Chutung (
The massive explosion registered as a level three earthquake in Hsinchu City and Chutung and was felt as far as 10km away. The amount of explosives used would be sufficient to bring down a 30-story building.
Hsinchu County fire chief Lin Hsiang-chin (
Lin said that a letter would be sent to the school today explaining that it would be fined if it was found to have violated any law.
Lin Chih-chun (
Because the explosion took place close to the Taiwan High Speed Rail bridge across the Touchien River and its Touchien maintenance works, high speed rail representatives at Hsinchu Station said that the control center in Taoyuan sent staff to inspect the facilities immediately upon receiving information about the "earthquake," only to confirm that everything was normal.
The TAIGER plan, which is sponsored by the National Science Council, is aimed at monitoring and mapping the structure of the earth's crust underneath Taiwan.
It also aims to set up a basic framework for tectonic plate movement.
A representative of the university department, which is in charge of the project, said that natural earthquakes are spontaneous and that this experiment used a man-made earthquake to survey the earth's crust.
It also said that the project was carried out in cooperation with a US institution and that the results would be made public once they are complete.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HUNG YU-FANG AND YU TAI-LANG
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS