The Coast Guard Administration and Kaohsiung port police will move their facilities at Shaochuantou (哨船頭) to make room for a project to restore historic piers in the area, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said on Wednesday last week.
The Hsingbin Project seeks to establish a heritage site dedicated to the city’s maritime history, Lai said, adding that the project will restore the Shaochuantou piers and connect them to the former British consulate at Takao (打狗).
Shaochuantou’s name comes from an old service dock, called shaochuan (哨船), used by the Qing Dynasty navy, Kaohsiung Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Lin Shang-ying (林尚瑛) said.
Photo: Courtesy of Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs
At the time, Takao Harbor was a major international port and Shaochuantou was its primary dock, handling large commercial vessels and warships, Lin said.
The Northern Gate, 50m from the dock, was then armed with British-made Armstrong guns, which were supported by a gun battery on Chihoushan (旗後山), demonstrating the port’s strategic value, he said.
Urban development has destroyed much of the historical harbor and the Harbor No. 1 Safety Inspection Office building cut off the former British consulate building from the historic site, Lin said.
Photo: Copied by Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
Negotiations with port police and coast guard officials were difficult, he said, but added that restoring the piers is the right thing to do.
Lin said he was worried that abandoning the project at this stage would kill it.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲) attributed the successful outcome of the negotiations to Lai’s “superhuman tenacity,” adding that the lawmaker has held more than 20 rounds of negotiations since September last year to push the project.
The relocation of a safety inspection office was on Wednesday last week authorized by Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Chang Ching-sen (張景森), city officials said.
A residential building for customs officials near the former British consulate will also be relocated, Lin said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS