Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand Director Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) on Thursday last week paid their respects to Sung Ching-yun (宋慶雲), who died on Dec. 8 aged 94.
Sung was one of the first Taiwanese agricultural specialists appointed by the government to help the Thai Royal Highland Agricultural Development Project in Chiang Mai Province. The project aimed to rid Thailand of opium following its identification as a major opium exporter in 1960.
Thai farmers were encouraged to grow fruit instead of poppies, but several fruit saplings offered by Japan, South Korea and other nations experienced shrinkage after being planted in Thailand, an issue that then-Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej mentioned to then-ambassador to Thailand Shen Chang-huan (沈昌煥) in 1970.
Shen suggested that an agricultural team from Taiwan be sent to provide assistance, appointing Sung — then the deputy chief of the retired servicemen’s Fushoushan Ranch at Lishan (梨山) — as the delegation’s leader.
Nicknamed “Papa Sung” by locals and the Thai royal family, including the king, Sung put his experience cultivating fruit orchards to use in the Thai highlands, starting in Chiang Mai’s Ang Khang region just south of the Thai-Burmese border.
By 1974, Sung and his team had overseen the successful expansion of fruit orchards, while poppy fields were on the decline.
Born in Dalian, China, and relocated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War, Sung remained in Chiang Mai after his team’s consultancy ended.
Sung’s adopted son, Sung Ching-hua (宋清華), said a portion of Sung Ching-yun’s remains would be buried at the Ang Khang farm where he spent most of his later life, while a second portion would be taken to Dalian.
A third portion might be buried in Taiwan, provided a suitable location is found, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS