The legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday passed an initial review of a proposed act aimed at governing underwater cultural heritage resources.
If the draft act passes a third reading, it will become the nation’s first piece of legislation to address the protection of submerged heritage sites and relics.
The current version of the draft act states that any cultural resources submerged in Taiwan’s territorial seas or waters, except those from maritime vessels and vehicles or aircraft owned by private individuals or foreign governments, are to be designated as national heritage resources.
To steal, vandalize or knowingly excavate heritage resources without government approval — or having the intent to commit the above — is a crime punishable by a sentence of up to five years in prison, or a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$10 million (US$6,091 and US$304,580).
An underwater cultural heritage resource is defined as any submerged site, vessel, vehicle, human remains, artifact or any other evidence pertaining to human life which is subject to registration by the Ministry of Culture.
The ministry might also designate submerged content or areas as underwater national heritage resources if petitioned to do so by private individuals or groups.
The draft further states that a governmental organization or public enterprise would have to investigate the presence of any underwater cultural heritage resource before committing to develop an underwater area.
In addition, private groups or individuals engaged in fishing, cable-laying, channel building or marine science research or study in a body of water would, upon the discovery of suspected heritage resources, have to cease all activities and inform relevant authorities to prevent damage to the resources.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it