In the past three years about 30 visitors to Beihai Tunnel (北海坑道) in Matsu’s Nangan Island (南竿) have lost cellphones while photographing the famed “blue tears,” a county official said.
The blue tears are a naturally occurring phenomenon caused by a form of algae called Noctiluca scintillans, which glows a bright-blue color from April through August every year. The blue tears are a major tourist attraction, drawing 180,000 visitors to Lienchiang County last year.
The Beihai Tunnel, which provides an ideal place to view the algae, is one of three such tunnels in Matsu built from 1969 to 1971 by the Ministry of National Defense to provide protection for military vessels. The tunnel was remodeled and opened to the public in 2000 under orders from then-Lienchiang County commissioner Liu Li-chun (劉立群), who hoped the tunnel would boost tourism. It remains the only one of the three tunnels accessible to the public.
Photo provided by the Lienchiang County Government
Lighting inside the tunnel is kept off when visitors enter at night so that the only light comes from the glowing algae, which become visible when the water is disturbed by paddles or oars.
Tourism officials said the effect is like “floating through space surrounded by the light of the stars.”
Lienchiang County Transportation and Tourism Department Deputy Director Liu Hsing-chien (劉性謙) said the water in the tunnel is 6m deep at its most shallow point.
“If someone drops a cellphone in that water it is quite hard to retrieve it,” he said.
One boat operator recalled a father who dropped an iPhone 7 in the water recently while photographing the blue tears.
“The smartphone had several pictures of his son. Those memories are all lost,” the operator said.
The most important first step if a handset is recovered from water is to turn the power off and remove the battery if possible, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) digital lifestly editor Chuang Ying-chun (莊英群) said, adding that the smartphone should then be placed in front of a fan to dry for at least one day.
Tourists who drop their handsets in the water while aboard a boat cannot seek compensation from operators except in the event that the boat is being operated incorrectly, lawyer Lin Fu-kuei (林富貴) said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS