A lighthouse in Kinmen County which was shut down in 1951 was lit yesterday for the first time in decades at a ceremony and is to again guide ships traveling through the Taiwan Strait.
Wuciou Lighthouse (烏坵燈塔) was constructed in 1874 and damaged in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War.
In 1951, Taiwan decided to stop operating the lighthouse amid tensions with China, but continued to carry out routine maintenance work.
Photo: CNA
In 2001, the lighthouse was officially shut down after it was placed under the jurisdiction of the military.
However, at yesterday’s ceremony, the Maritime and Port Bureau signed an agreement with the military to take charge of the lighthouse.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-chung (祈文中) said that the lighthouse has been standing above Meizhou Bay (湄洲灣) overlooking the Taiwan Strait for 143 years as a symbol of navigational safety.
Years ago, it helped to guide the ROC Marine Corps and would now continue to make navigation safer in the Strait, Chi said.
Efforts would be made to designate the lighthouse a national historic site, he said, adding that it is already a county-level historic site.
The resumption of the lighthouse’s operations is also aimed at highlighting the Wuciou Islands, which are close to Kinmen Island and China’s Fujian Province, Maritime Port Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said.
The Wuciou Islands are 72 nautical miles (133km) northeast of Kinmen.
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