An aerobatic performance troop that was suspended for four years is to perform for the public at a Taichung Chingchuankang Airport base on Saturday next week, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team is to showcase diving stunts at the Chingchuankang Aviation Festival.
Six rolling jet trainers are to ascend in a close formation before diving with each aircraft flying in different directions, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.
The stunt has not been executed since 2012.
The team is to deploy its entire fleet — seven AT-3 trainer jets — for the first time since 2014, when Lieutenant Colonel Chuang Pei-yuan (莊倍源) died after his aircraft collided with another and crashed during a training session, Chen said.
A three-jet tumbling stunt that Chuang was performing during the accident will not be executed, the ministry said.
The festival is the fourth open base event this year, and the nation’s most advanced jets, such as the F-16, the Mirage 2000 and the Indigenous Defense Fighter jet, are to take part in the aerial demonstration, Chen said.
Visitors will also be able to get a closer look at several aircraft, including the Lockheed P-3 Orion marine patrol aircraft, the S-2T marine patrol aircraft, Teng Yun unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Sikorsky S-70C and the AH-1W Super Cobra.
Ground combat vehicles to be displayed include the Thunderbolt-2000 multiple rocket launcher, the Avenger missile launcher, CM33 Clouded Leopard armored vehicles and nuclear, biological, chemical reconnaissance vehicles.
The air force marching band and Aboriginal dancers are to perform and a fair is to be held on the base, the ministry said.
Taiwanese who present a photo ID at the entrance will be admitted free of charge.
Spouses of Taiwanese who do not have an Republic of China ID card should present documents to prove their legal status in Taiwan and be accompanied by their Taiwanese partner with a photo ID.
Foreign caregivers who are invited by those they care for should bring their passports and other relevant documents.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he