Taiwan and India yesterday in Chiayi signed a letter of intent to cooperate over railway heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India director James Tien (田中光) and Sriharan Madhusudhanan, director of the India-Taipei Association, signed the letter on behalf of their respective governments.
The ministry said that Taiwan and India each constructed mountain railways in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Alishan Forest Railway in Chiayi and systems such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Kalka Shimla Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in India.
Photo: CNA
Through the letter the two nations would further engage in cooperation for the protection, safeguarding and management of their mountain railway heritage, the ministry said.
The letter is the third bilateral document signed by Taiwan and India this year, following an air services agreement and a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation.
The letter is part of the Taipei’s “new southbound policy” of sharing resources and promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation with nations in Southeast Asia, as well as India, New Zealand and Australia.
The letter will advance the tourism industries in Taiwan and India, the ministry said.
Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) said that UNESCO has registered five railways as world heritages, all of which are alpine railways and three of which are in India.
The council will learn from India’s experience in a bid to push for the Alishan Forest Railway to be included among the world heritage sites, Weng said.
The ceremony was held in conjunction with celebrations to mark the 104th anniversary of the beginning of operations on the Alishan route.
The railway was opened in 1912, initially running from Chiayi to Erwanping Station, but was extended to Alishan Station on Dec. 25, 1914.
Although originally constructed for logging, the railway is today primarily a tourist attraction, with unique Z-shaped switchbacks, tunnels and wooden bridges.
The Alishan railway climbs to 2,200m above sea level, making it the only rail service of its kind in Taiwan.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS