The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) launched a new Web site yesterday as part of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ campaign to encourage people to use public transport as much as possible.
Aside from a timeline of how the nation’s public bus system was started in the early 20th century, the Web site shows photographs of the bus tickets offered by different bus operators around the nation in the 1960s, as well as pictures of passengers waiting at bus stations.
The site will also publish articles about highways and public buses in different locations around the nation, including those in Greater Tainan, Greater Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Keelung, Miaoli and the nation’s outlying islands.
DGH Director-General Wu Meng-fen (吳盟分) said highway buses allow people to travel freely around the nation without having to drive.
“All you have to do is pick up your luggage and go,” Wu said. “Instead of having to deal with the hassle of driving, travelers can sit in comfort on the bus and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.”
Aerial photographer Chen Ming-ming (陳敏明) and writer Hau Yu-hsiang (郝譽翔) were invited to share their observations about the scenery in Taiwan on land, as well as at sea.
Chen said he often uses the bends along highway routes as a way to confirm locations for shoots.
He added that the nation’s highways have many bends and it would be a spectacular landscape if one could look at them from the ground and from the sky.
Hau said she became interested in sailing two years ago.
“The Taiwan Strait, also known as the ‘Black Ditch,’ poses a threat to boats sailing westward because of its strong north-south ocean current. However, it is one of the sea lanes in the world with the heaviest traffic. When you travel in the strait at night, you can see [beautiful scenes of] fishing boats with their lights on everywhere,” she said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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