Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday inaugurated the National Academy of Marine Research in Kaohsiung, saying that it would boost the nation’s international participation in ocean affairs.
Establishment of the academy, which is overseen by the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), comes almost a year after the council was established on April 28 last year.
The academy is tasked with planning ocean-related policy, assembling research and developing marine industries, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
It is also expected to boost connections between the nation and the global community by increasing participation at conferences and organizations, he said, adding that he hopes it would lead Taiwan to become a safe and prosperous maritime nation.
Academy Acting Director-General Chiu Yung-fang (邱永芳), a professor in National Sun Yat-sen University’s department of marine environment and engineering, accepted the agency’s seal from OAC Minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威).
The Executive Yuan has authorized the academy to hire 80 officials, but it has only recruited 15, academy spokesperson Lin Shih-chang (林世昌) said.
The academy’s focus this year includes drafting a sea area management bill for areas beyond 3 nautical miles (5.4km) of the nation’s coastline, as well as conducting research on ocean current energy generation and marine geology in waters off the southeastern coast, Lin said.
The academy said in a press release that it also plans to build a fleet of ocean research vessels, which might mean its mission could overlap with the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute of the National Applied Research Laboratories.
The academy would seek to collaborate with the institute, as the latter has more research resources, Lin said.
Decisions on building vessels would be determined by higher authorities, he said.
It would be better for the nation to have different agencies managing official and non-official research vessels, an academic said on condition of anonymity.
A vessel’s basic information, including whether it is government-owned, can be viewed on the global Automatic Identification System, while its identity would influence its activity in territorial waters of foreign nations, the academic said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS