Sixty percent of the budget proposed by the National Science Council (NSC) for the ROCSAT-3 (
The National Science Council had asked for about NT$260 million in funding for the ROCSAT-3 project next year.
But legislators of the Sci-tech and Information Committee slashed NT$160 million off that request, or about 60 percent of the proposal.
NSC Vice Chairman Hsieh Ching-chih (
"We estimate that the completion date will be extended for six months to one year," Hsieh said.
The ROCSAT-3 program is a collaboration between University Corporation for Atmospheric Research of the US and the the National Space Program Office under the NSC to develop a constellation of eight low-earth orbiting satellites for weather prediction, space weather monitoring and climate research.
The launch date of the satellites was previously scheduled for late 2002.
"Some of us want to cut a great part of the budget because the achieved percentage of scheduled progress of the project has fallen behind seriously," KMT legislator Ting Shou-chung (
Ting said that about NT$200 million in budget funds arranged for the project last year had not yet been consumed.
KMT legislator Chen Ching-pao (
"In addition, I suggest taking out 30 percent of total budget arranged by the central government because Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Chen said that NT$510 billion was about 30 percent of the total budget of the former KMT-led central government.
"If so, the total budget proposed by DPP-led central government should be about 70 percent of the budget arranged by the former KMT-led government. How come the total budget proposed by central government is NT$90 billion more than that proposed by the former government?" Chen said.
Other KMT legislators at the committee, however, did not side with Chen.
"Legislators should consider a diversity of goals to see if spending the money on such items is cost-effective," KMT legislator Ting told the media.
At the budget review meeting yesterday afternoon, legislators cut NT$0.5 billion out of the NT$14 billion budget for the national scientific technology development fund.
In addition, NT$1.9 billion in funds proposed for developing industrial-based parks will be reviewed by legislators at their floor meeting, planned to be held by the end of December.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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