President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday discussed the significance of the nation’s railways as a historical and cultural asset, promising to promote railway culture to the world.
In an online show, Ma and railway expert Su Chao-hsu (蘇昭旭) discussed the history of Taiwan’s railway network, which began when then-Taiwan provincial governor Liu Ming-chuan (劉銘傳) began constructing 28.6km of track from Taipei to Keelung in 1887.
During the Japanese colonial era, the authorities continued to develop the railway network. By 1945, it covered more than 750km.
Ma said railways and trains represented the changes that Taiwanese society had underwent, becoming a collective memory of many Taiwanese.
“We should promote railway transportation as it is economic and energy-saving,” he said. “The history of railways should also be well-preserved and promoted because it carries great significance, culturally and historically.”
Su said many railways, such as the Alishan Forest Railway and wooden railway stations, have become popular tourist attractions.
The Alishan Forest Railway system has also become a “sister railway” with Japan’s Oigawa Railway system, Su said.
“The government should put more effort into railway diplomacy and promote railways as significant cultural and historical assets,” he said.
Ma said that railways and trains could play a role in the nation’s cultural exchanges with other countries, and the government and civic groups should work together to promote and preserve Taiwan’s railway culture.
Ma’s weekly online program, launched in July 2009, came to an end yesterday.
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said Ma would continue to communicate with the public via his Facebook page and online venues.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS