The Council of Agriculture last month terminated a contract with a Taiwanese satellite image supplier after finding that its images were sourced from a China-based firm, a council official said yesterday, after local media raised information security concerns.
The council’s Agricultural Research Institute in May opened bidding to purchase hyperspectral satellite images, which are to be used to monitor crop growth and improve supply and demand.
The only Taiwanese firm that tendered a bid won it for NT$9.9 million (US$314,186), the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday.
Photo: CNA
However, only China’s Zhuhai-1 remote sensing satellite is able to satisfy the institute’s requirements for image resolution better than 10m with more than 30 wavebands, it said.
The images were actually to be supplied by a firm named Orbita Aerospace Science and Technology Co based in China’s Guangdong Province, it said, questioning the government’s resolve to develop its own space technology.
Council Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) told a news conference that officials terminated the deal on July 22 after finding it to be problematic.
There would be no penalty for breach of contract, given that it was terminated before the firm started to honor it, he said.
The bidding project aimed to purchase images taken by “commercial” satellites, while image analysis would be carried out by the institute, so there is no risk of leaking secure information, he said.
The Executive Yuan is to publish guidelines for blocking information and communication products that might jeopardize national security, while the council would set up clearer guidelines to prevent similarly controversial deals, Chen said.
Developing hyperspectral cameras for satellites involves high technical thresholds, and only the US and China are known to have the ability, National Space Organization Deputy Director-General Yu Shiann-jen (余憲政) said.
Taiwan still has a long way to go before it can autonomously develop such cameras, but it several years ago developed one for an aircraft, which is currently being tested, Yu added.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim