Nearly 3,000 tonnes of fish recently froze to death in Penghu. Some have attributed this natural disaster to the impact of drastic changes in the global climate -- ?an issue that deserves our long-term attention. However, one is tempted to ask why, under the same climatic conditions, the cobia fish farms in Little Liouciou (
Natural factors include the shallow depth of Penghu's inland waters, so that a "basin effect" occurs when temperatures drop suddenly, affecting water temperatures and killing masses of fish. Manmade factors include the intricate network of bridges between the many islands in Penghu County, most of which have an overly low flow cross-section. Add in difficulties from changes in tidal and current flow and maintaining normal seawater temperatures for fish habitation becomes problematic. In comparison, Little Liouciou does not have to deal with problems relating to ocean depths or tidal changes, so fish stocks in this area are able to survive in winter.
As such, Penghu needs to delve into the research on the environment of its inland waters, enforce water temperature monitoring, build an aquatic livestock farming alarm system, facilitate flow in tidal channels and consider an overall restructuring of the flow cross-section for bridges. These measures will help it cope with tidal changes and damage from sudden temperature drops in inland sea areas with shallow water and slow currents.
For the moment, the government should prioritize providing relief to Penghu fishermen and preventing contamination from decaying fish. For the long term, we hope the government can allocate a budget to cover research on nurturing resources, climate change, warning systems, reducing the number of manmade structures and other factors that affect the fishing industry. Aside from promoting a plan for the sustainable development of Penghu's waters, marine conservation should also be strengthened and incorporated into the education system.
Penghu County is made up of 90 islands of varying sizes, of which less than 20 are inhabited. However, the county has almost 70 fishing harbors, with each village having two or three harbors. There are also numerous embankments or armor units along the shore. Some of these manmade structures may have historical significance, but most of them have lost their usefulness over time.
For example, the seawall at Chinglo (
There's also Pengpeng beach (澎澎灘), whose formation and sand encroachment is probably related to the sand drifts caused by surrounding manmade structures. Obstruction from these structures affects current flow in inland water, resulting not only in massive losses of fish stocks but also damage to the sea bed environment for fish farming. The negative impact of these various manmade structures are contributing to the decline of Penghu's natural beauty. Penghu is no longer suitable for manmade construction. Projects such as those planned on Chipei Islet (吉貝) or Shanshui (山水) should be carefully reconsidered.
The Penghu National Scenic Area Administration has proposed building large, low-priced hotels on Cimei Island (七美島), overlooking the fact that the island's charm comes from its quiet isolation that is suitable to honeymooners or small tour groups, as well as the fact that the the island has already reached its development capacity.
The county government and certain developers have also been plotting to sell some of the uninhabited islands to improve the county's finances. The administration went so far as posting online notices, preparing to sell the islands for less than NT$121 per square meter. These actions make one wonder if the local government lacks understanding of the value of these islands and the surrounding waters, as well as their development limitations. The island forum held two years ago by the county government does not seem to have fulfilled its role as a "think tank" to help the administration.
The demise of Penghu's fish stock is probably only the tip of the iceberg. There is still a long way to go before Taiwan becomes a truly maritime nation. Penghu is an important maritime county that needs to take the first step and draft a complete marine development policy, thoughtfully reconsider marine environmental issues, reduce manmade structures and turn itself into a model for wisely using and preserving natural marine resources.
Chiau Wen-yan is a professor and director of the Institute of Marine Resource Management at National Taiwan Ocean University.
Translated by Angela Hong
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Father’s Day, as celebrated around the world, has its roots in the early 20th century US. In 1910, the state of Washington marked the world’s first official Father’s Day. Later, in 1972, then-US president Richard Nixon signed a proclamation establishing the third Sunday of June as a national holiday honoring fathers. Many countries have since followed suit, adopting the same date. In Taiwan, the celebration takes a different form — both in timing and meaning. Taiwan’s Father’s Day falls on Aug. 8, a date chosen not for historical events, but for the beauty of language. In Mandarin, “eight eight” is pronounced
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
In a recent essay, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, Christian Whiton, accuses Taiwan of diplomatic incompetence — claiming Taipei failed to reach out to Trump, botched trade negotiations and mishandled its defense posture. Whiton’s narrative overlooks a fundamental truth: Taiwan was never in a position to “win” Trump’s favor in the first place. The playing field was asymmetrical from the outset, dominated by a transactional US president on one side and the looming threat of Chinese coercion on the other. From the outset of his second term, which began in January, Trump reaffirmed his
RSS