It would cost about NT$1 billion (US$30.89 million) to restore Taroko National Park after it was severely damaged by a massive quake on April 3, Minister of Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said yesterday.
Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee on reconstruction after the earthquake, Lin said that several hiking trails, facilities and structures in the mountainous park were severely damaged by the temblor, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.
Based on preliminary estimates, the cost of restoring portions of the park that are the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior would be more than NT$1 billion, Lin said, without offering any further specifics and what exactly that funding would cover.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
However, the estimate does not cover repairs to the main traffic artery that runs through the park — the Central Cross-island Highway (Provincial Highway No. 8) — which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
More accurate estimates would not be available until a damage assessment is completed in about two weeks, Lin said, attributing the slow process to the many aftershocks in the area that have made surveying it difficult.
Taroko National Park stretches from the northern Hualien County coast as far inland as Hehuanshan (合歡山) near the border of Hualien and Nantou counties.
It is best known for the stunning Taroko Gorge and the cross-island highway along the Liwu River (立霧溪) that cut through it. The gorge and nearby trails were buried in landslides and rockslides triggered by the quake, killing several hikers.
Although access to the gorge remains closed, the interior ministry said the western parts of the park near Hehuanshan have reopened.
As for funding in the wake of the disaster, Lin said the central government allotted NT$300 million to the Hualien County Government to meet immediate needs, and is now assessing post-disaster shelter and housing reconstruction needs.
Some of the expenditures are to be covered by the existing disaster response budget and by funds collected through donations, and the government would only consider setting up a special budget if the funds are not sufficient, Lin said.
He was responding to legislators’ questions about whether a temporary regulation similar to the defunct Temporary Statute for 921 Earthquake Post-Disaster Reconstruction would be introduced.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Foundation for Disaster Relief said in a statement that as of 7am yesterday, donations exceeding NT$900 million have poured into local accounts for earthquake relief.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
‘WORLD’S LOSS’: Taiwan’s exclusion robs the world of the benefits it could get from one of the foremost practitioners of disease prevention and public health, Minister Chiu said Taiwan should be allowed to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an irreplaceable contributor to global health and disease prevention efforts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. He made the comment at a news conference in Taipei, hours before a Taiwanese delegation was to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, seeking to meet with foreign representatives for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the WHA, the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting, which would be held from Monday next week to May 27. As of yesterday, Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation. Taiwan has much to offer to the international community’s
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the