Four islets south of Penghu County are set to be designated on Sunday as Taiwan’s ninth national park, which will officially open in October, a Ministry of the Interior official said yesterday.
The new park, situated to the east of Wang-an (望安) and Cimei (七美) islands to the south of the Penghu islands, encompasses Dongji (東吉), Dongyuping (東嶼坪), Siji (西吉) and Siyuping (西嶼坪) islets, as well as their surrounding waters.
The park covers a land area of 370 hectares and a sea area of 354.73km2 in the Taiwan Strait. Its boundary overlaps with that of Taijiang National Park in southwestern Taiwan, according to data provided by the ministry.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
The official reported during a Cabinet meeting that the four islets in the park are composed mainly of ocean basalt and are characterized by a wide array of geological features, marine biodiversity and historical evidence of human habitation.
After the national park is inaugurated, the ministry will promote the conservation of resources in the park, including the preservation of traditional settlements, setting up environmentally friendly public service facilities, promoting education and protection of the marine environment and in-depth ecological tours, according to the official.
In addition, the ministry plans to devote efforts to protecting coral reefs and conserving marine resources in the waters of the park.
Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) said the Executive Yuan approved the application for the designation of the four islets as a national park on March 10 and was to ratify the designation on the World Oceans Day on Sunday.
“The park is to be officially established this October,” Chen added.
After listening to the briefing, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) directed the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency to take measures regarding future operation and management of the park, including preserving natural resources, protecting the rights of local residents and promoting ecotourism.
Taiwan currently has eight national parks: Pingtung County’s Kenting National Park, Kinmen County’s Kinmen National Park, Miaoli County’s Shei-Pa National Park, Hualien County’s Taroko National Park, Taipei City’s Yangmingshan National Park, Nantou County’s Yushan National Park, Greater Kaohsiung’s Dongsha Marine National Park, and Greater Tainan’s Taijiang National Park.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS