The government is to allocate about NT$5.77 billion (US$184 million) over three years to build bicycle paths nationwide to boost Taiwan’s profile as an international destination for cycling enthusiasts, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The ministry announced the plan as Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), accompanied by ministry officials and cycling industry representatives, embarked on a six-day round-the-island relay to obtain first-hand experience on the state of biking paths nationwide ahead of the project’s implementation.
Wang said he would only be able to join the ride through New Taipei City’s Yingge District (鶯歌) and another section in Pingtung County, as he has to attend a meeting at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday next week.
Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei Times
The bike routes must appeal to Taiwanese as well as cyclists from abroad, he said.
A seminar is to be held on the last day of the tour to discuss what needs to be improved, and the NT$5.77 billion would go toward financing improvements.
The ministry completed the No. 1 Round-island Biking Path and 25 other adjunct paths from 2015 to 2020, but has found that parts of the route still need to be connected to make it contiguous, he said.
Photo: CNA
The ministry had enacted a project from 2020 to last year that focused on increasing route safety and user-friendliness, resulting in 16 family-friendly side routes and a step in connecting the biking routes, he said.
Railways, footpaths and cycling paths are all key facets to encourage low-carbon tourism, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said.
The agency has launched a number of activities in tandem with the ministry’s six-day tour to promote alternative methods for conducting nationwide trips, he added.
It is also looking to introduce more events tailored to the June 3 World Bicycle Day to attract more international cyclists to Taiwan, he said.
There would be two waves of events, the first taking place from June to September and the second from September to November, he added.
Chou said he hoped that cyclists visiting Taiwan would not only take a round-the-island tour, but also visit other cycling routes such as Sun Moon Lake, Dapengwan (大鵬灣) and Penghu County.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS