The National Science Council (NSC,
Failing in urging Vice Chairman Steve Hsieh (
Hsieh made the request to step down on May 8, one day after Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC,
The wrangle between THSRC and NSC over the rail line's vibration problems has been highlighted since late February, when Winbond Electronics Corp (
The Winbond decision was followed by several other DRAM chipmakers pulling out of the park, including Silicon Integrated Systems Co (
The high-speed rail line, which crosses the industrial zone, is scheduled to start in 2005.
For firms locating within 200m from the railroad line, the ideal vibration level was 48dB. According to the contract THSRC signed with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications the accepted level could be as low as 68dB.
Hsieh was the second NSC leader to leave the position because of disputes over the science park.
The NSC has tried to persuade the THSRC to reduce vibration levels of the rail systems by changing details of the construction of a bridge near the park, but their arguments were not accepted. Scientists for the NSC said that this was the only efficient method to solve resonance vibration caused by the passage of the trains.
The THSRC argued that the construction would be carried out based on the contract and its insistence received strong support from the Cabinet on May 8.
To show his resolution to take the responsibility for choosing the site as a industrial park, Hsieh decided on May 8 to leave the NSC, where he had worked for 19 years.
Wei said yesterday the announcement of a candidate to occupy the vacant position left by Hsieh was uncertain.
According to the council, the candidate should be familiar with both technology policies and science-based industrial parks affairs.
The director of NSC's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park Administration (新竹科學園區管理局), Huang Wen-hsiung (黃文雄), is reportedly being considered by the council as a possible candidate.
Huang said yesterday that he had not been approached about the position.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS