Sun, May 02, 2010 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
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  ■ AVIATION

  Bomb scare diverts plane

  A Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL) passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province yesterday after a passenger claimed to have a bomb on board, Taiwan’s Aviation Police Office said late yesterday evening. The 58-year-old passenger reportedly told cabin crew he had explosives in his luggage, the office said. The plane, which was on its way to Shanghai from Taipei, was diverted to Hangzhou. A preliminary investigation by local police found no explosives in Lin’s luggage. He claimed to have made the comment as a joke, the office said. The plane eventually took off again for Shanghai — minus Lin, who was detained in Hangzhou, according to the office.

  ■ FOOD

  Farmers make halal bid

  The farmers’ association in Taichung County’s Shihkang (石岡) said it was applying for Halal certification of its new ponkan mandarin orange cake to tap into Muslim markets abroad. Halal certification is recognition that products are permissible under Islamic law and are thus edible, drinkable or usable by Muslims. The Shihkang farmers’ association has been forced to add value to its ponkan mandarin oranges, which is a major crop in that area, following poor sales last year. After much trial and error, it came up with the orange cake, which is expected to hit the market this month. The association plans to export it to Southeast Asian countries with large Muslim populations.

  ■ SEAFARING

  Koxinga honored with ship

  A replica of a 17th century Ming Dynasty ruler’s ship was launched yesterday at Anping Harbor in Tainan City and is expected to make a voyage to Japan next April, Tainan city government officials said yesterday. Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (�?]) said the ship, which was built to commemorate the Chinese general Koxinga, known in Mandarin Chinese as Cheng Chen-kung (鄭成�?would sail for the Japanese city of Hirado, where Koxinga was born in 1624. The officials said the ship, which is not self-powered and was towed into the harbor by a fishing boat, would have to undergo seven days of tests in the harbor before being fitted with navigation equipment and an engine. To reconstruct the ship, Tainan city officials traveled to Japan in 2008 to obtain a copy of a painting of the vessel from the Hirado City Government. Based on the 1706 painting, the 29.5m replica was completed in 18 months, with funding of NT$80 million (US$2.5 million) from the Council for Cultural Affairs.

  ■ NATURE

  Coastal forests important

  The country must put more effort into restoring coastal forests, which can provide protection against wind and tides, a Council of Agriculture official said. Chen Tsai-hui (陳財輝), an analyst at the council’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, said the coastal forests had declined substantially in recent years because of coastal industrial parks, fishing ports, and recreational and wind power facilities. The western coastline is suffering serious erosion, Chen said. The overuse of concrete armor units and bulwarks defeats the purpose of their construction, often resulting in encroachment at sea, he said. Land subsidence along the southwest coastline has also resulted in coastal forests being swamped, he said. To limit the damage from high tides and sandstorms, more forests should be planted along the nation’s 1,250km of coastline, Chen said.
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