A bridge in Greater Kaohsiung that was destroyed by massive flooding triggered by Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 opened to traffic on Saturday after being rebuilt with funds donated by China.
The Huoshan Bridge on the Jiaxian-Shanlin section of the No. 21 provincial highway was one of dozens of bridges and roads in mountainous areas of Kaohsiung that were partially or entirely damaged by the storm, the Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council said.
Knowing that Taiwan needed funds to get the area back on its feet, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) jointly raised funds from Chinese donors to help rebuild the bridge, the council said.
Photo: CNA
The reconstruction of Huoshan Bridge began in November last year, with the Taiwan Mazu Fellowship, a religious civic group, commissioned to take charge of the project, which was completed at a cost of NT$540 million (US$18.46 million).
Described as an extradosed bridge, which is similar to a cable-stayed bridge but with a lower tower, Huoshan Bridge now stretches 280m.
It was designed based on ideas inspired by the roofs of local temples and the crown of Matsu (媽祖), the goddess of the sea who is widely worshiped in Taiwan, Taiwan Mazu Fellowship honorary chairman Yen Chin-piao (顏清標) said during the inauguration ceremony.
The bridge’s opening was also witnessed by Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council chief executive Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川), Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) and ARATS Vice Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中).
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
RSS