A torch relay for next year’s Summer Universiade is to include Yushan’s (玉山) main peak, the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee said yesterday after a delegation successfully lit a prototype torch at the summit.
In a bid to evaluate the possibility of including the mountain in the Universiade’s torch relay route, committee CEO Su Li-chung (蘇麗瓊) led a delegation of committee members to Yushan’s main peak, the highest in the nation at 3,952m.
The prototype torch overcame the low pressure and temperature, the high altitude and sudden gusts of strong winds at the summit, she said, adding that the temperature at the peak yesterday was 3°C.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee
By bringing the torch to Yushan, the committee hopes to convey the message of letting Taiwan be seen by the world through the sporting event.
The delegation tested the torch at four locations on the mountain: the Tataka Saddle at 2,610m; the Paiyun Lodge (排雲山莊) at 3,402m; the “white forest” of trees stripped bare by forest fires at 3,096m; and at the summit.
When asked by reporters what he thought of the successful tests, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) praised the delegation for going to such great lengths to test the torch, adding that he had previously conquered Yushan.
Asked if he would follow the torch to Yushan’s peak to promote the sporting event, Ko said: “Give me a break.”
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS