The government is negotiating with Japan over the nation’s fishing rights in the waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, adding that he hoped this could yield substantial results in the near future.
Accompanied by Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), Wang Chin-shih (王進士), Chiu Wen-yen (邱文彥) and Chien Tung-ming (簡東明), Ma made the remark during a visit to the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) inspection office in Donggang Township (東港) in Pingtung County.
After listening to a brief report on the office’s administrative achievements last year, Ma attended a luncheon with coast guard personnel, during which he touted the agency’s efforts in safeguarding the safety of Taiwanese fishermen operating in waters near the Diaoyutais, also known as the Senkakus in Japan.
“Amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea, the CGA was able to offer timely assistance to a group of Taiwanese fishermen heading from Suao [蘇澳], Yilan County, to the Diaoyutai Islands [in September] last year in an effort to assert the nation’s sovereignty over the disputed archipelago,” Ma said.
Its assistance not only helped bring the privately initiated mission, which triggered an exchange of water-cannon fire between Taiwanese and Japanese patrol vessels, to a peaceful end, but also earned plaudits from Taiwanese fishermen, Ma said.
“It is a nation’s obligation to guarantee the safety and rights of its fishermen, which is something the CGA has been doing through non-military means since its establishment 17 years ago,” Ma said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
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