Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) announced yesterday that he wants to develop the remote-control (RC) model vehicle industry in his city and the first step is to build an RC airplane museum at the defunct Shuinan Airport terminal.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Hu made the announcement at the opening of the third Taichung aviation festival at Shuinan Airport, which drew crowds of visitors on its first day.
Hu said his idea to develop the industry in Taichung was inspired by the large number of people attending the inauguration ceremony for the two-day festival.
SPACE
He said the city has enough space and resources for the sector's development -- referring to the old terminal of Shuinan Airport, which has been left idle since the relocation of the city's commercial flight services to Chingchuankang a few years ago.
The former airport is now part of a local government urban renewal project aimed at constructing a multifunctional urban center on the vast plot of land.
DEVELOPMENT
Hu said the local government has two years to take advantage of the empty plot and terminal before work begins on the new urban development project.
He said that it could be used as a training area for operating RC aircraft, as well as serving as a venue for international RC competitions.
The annual festival, now in its third year, was organized by the city government and Thunder Tiger Corp, a leading domestic RC vehicle manufacturer.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS