The Legislative Yuan's transportation committee will question Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials today on the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp's (THSRC) plans to secure an additional bank loan of NT$65.5 billion (US$2.03 billion).
According to a report from the ministry, the THSRC requires another NT$40 billion in capital before the High Speed Rail becomes operational in October. An additional NT$25.5 billion is needed to cover losses expected to be incurred during the initial stages of operations, the ministry said.
The report indicated that the THSRC would use the value of the land around its stations and other assets as collateral.
While the report indicated that banks are still in the process of evaluating the THSRC's loan application, it reiterated that the government would not "invest in" and "serve as guarantor" for the build-operate-transfer project to ensure that the public interest would not be compromised.
Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Ho Nuan-hsuan (
Yesterday, legislators criticized Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (
Kuo was dispatched along with Minister of Economic Affairs Morgan Huang (
Responding to legislators' questions about why the THSRC was hiring train drivers from foreign countries other than Japan, the source of its trains, the company's deputy general manager Lin Peng-liang (
"Nationality is not the factor we consider when we hire drivers," Lin said. "[Overseas drivers] will be allowed to operate the trains once they have adjusted to local conditions."
Lin added that the company had finished compiling its drivers' manuals. The manuals would be updated once the drivers had begun test-driving the new trains, he said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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