There is no discount offered on helicopter rides for tourists visiting the outlying island of Matsu because the county's helicopter transport service is designed to help carry local residents rather than tourists, according to a spokesman for the Lienchiang County Government.
Liu Teh-chuan (
Liu made the remarks over the weekend in response to complaints by tourists over a new rule that requires non-residents of Matsu to pay NT$3,000 (US$91.74 ) for a one-way trip by helicopter between Nankan and Tungying (東引) and NT$2,000 for a one-way trip between Nankan (南竿) and Lukuang (莒光).
residents
However, Matsu residents only have to pay NT$1,200 and NT$800, as in the past.
Tourists visiting Matsu have complained that the new measure will increase the financial burden on them, thus indirectly affecting local tourist development in a negative way.
According to Liu, the helicopters are not regular transport tools for local Matsu residents. Rather, they are mainly used to perform emergency medical assistance missions on the islets, he said.
transport
To take full advantage of the helicopters, the Lienchiang County Government also uses them as a means of transport for local residents on remote islets, he added.
As it costs the county about NT$50,000 to dispatch a helicopter to conduct a round trip between two destinations -- a service which runs at a financial loss even when the helicopter is full of passengers. -- "it is only natural that non-residents pay the full fare to avoid adding to the county government's financial deficit," he said.
He suggested that visitors to Matsu use the ferry service that is in place among Matsu's several islets.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS