A group of officials led by Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday inspected a forest in the central part of the country that was devastated by a tropical storm early this month.
The premier made a helicopter inspection of an area of Danta Forestry Area in Nantou County, which was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Mindulle.
Upon returning to an airbase in Taichung, the premier said that he was saddened to see damage in the Danta Forestry area.
He attributed the damage to over-exploitation of natural resources as well as to the disaster.
He called for soil conservation and a resumption of Aboriginal people's role as the guardians of the forests and of animal habitats, as well as the promotion of ecotourism so that Aboriginal people will be able to protect their lands and support themselves.
The premier also issued several instructions, including one not to rebuild a bridge that was destroyed during flooding caused by the tropical storm; another to convert a forest road into a mountain trail for ecotourism purposes; and another to consider whether to include the forestry region within the boundaries of a national park.
The premier asked the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Agriculture (COA) and other agencies to implement the instructions.
Accompanying the premier on the trip were Executive Yuan Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Council for Economic Planning and Development Vice Chairman Chang Chin-sheng (張景森), COA Vice Chairman Tai Cheng-yao (戴振耀) and Taiwan Forestry Bureau Vice Director Lee Tao-sheng (李桃生).
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
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