The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse in Matsu is a national historic building, the first granite lighthouse built in Taiwan, which has survived the shifts of contemporary history.
The tower is located on Dongju, one of the islets of the Matsu archipelago about 25km off the coast of China.
It was constructed in 1872 during the Qing Dynasty, based on a commerce and navigation agreement signed by the Qing administration and Great Britain following China’s defeat in the Opium Wars.
Photo: CNA
The lighthouse was designated a grade two historic building by the Ministry of the Interior in 1988.
The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse is the only one built of stone that is open to visitors.
Lighthouse director Chang Wei-lun (張維倫) said that during the late Qing Dynasty, customs offices were largely staffed at senior levels by foreigners, mainly Britons.
As a result, a British company was responsible for the construction and design of the lighthouse, and a foreigner continued to serve as the director of the lighthouse until 1949, Chang said.
The most distinctive feature of the lighthouse grounds is a 30m-long windbreak wall connecting the lighthouse and an office annex.
Chang said that when oil lamps were used for illumination, lighthouse keepers would walk along the wall between the lighthouse and the office to prevent lamps from being blown out during strong winds.
Also preserved is a rainwater collection system on an upper tier of the lighthouse, which was an important source of fresh water in the remote area.
The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse, like other lighthouses around the nation, was managed by the Customs Administration under the Ministry of Finance until 2013, when it was transferred to the Maritime and Port Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS