The local government of the Matsu Islands, an outpost during the years of military confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, is offering to help surviving veterans who served on the islands between the 1950s and 1990s to search for people, special sites or old memories tied to the islands.
A Lienchiang County Government Department of Culture spokesman said the small islands, about 10 nautical miles (18.5km) from China, have welcomed an increasing number of tourists in recent years, but many are not aware that Matsu was an important military post for more than four decades until 1992, when it shed its military role.
Calling it a special mission, the department said it believes the initiative, open until the end of the month, could help many former soldiers and island residents accomplish unfulfilled dreams of their youth.
With a total population of a little more than 10,000 residents, they have in recent years drawn eco-travelers from around the world who come for the luminescent sea algae that appears between spring and summer.
The phenomenon of the electric blue dots swimming along the coastline, known as “blue tears,” has made an international name for Matsu.
The Department of Culture hopes that through its latest initiative, a string of interesting stories about the islands will add to the attraction of Matsu.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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