The navy’s Hsiaohsuehshan (小雪山) radar station — one of only a few high-altitude radar installations — plays a key role in securing Taiwan’s western seas, Chinese-language newspaper the United Daily News (UDN) reported on Sunday.
The station is perched atop Hsiaohsuehshan, a lesser peak of the rugged Hsuehshan Range (雪山山脈) that straddles the border between Taichung and Miaoli County.
At 3,020m from the mountain’s foot, the station’s horizon is 20km in the distance, bringing ships passing through the Taiwan Strait within its range, the report said.
The facility was built to replace an old navy and air force joint radar station on Hsinchu County’s Leshan (樂山), which passed to the exclusive jurisdiction of the air force after a US-made phased-array radar system was installed, the UDN said.
The Hsiaohsuehshan site used to house a Chinese Television System (CTS) TV antenna, but was taken over by the navy following its abandonment in the aftermath of the 921 Earthquake in 1991, it said.
The site was a boon to the navy, as the new radar station’s elevation is 400m higher than its predecessor’s, improving its detection range, the newspaper said.
The inaccessible location of the base poses unique challenges for the navy and marine corps personnel stationed there, as supplies from military stores in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平) have to be transported through difficult terrain that is covered by snow in winter, it said.
No commissary or medical officers are available on base and the personnel carry their own snacks and medicines on the way up, it said.
The sailors and marines often need to fight against the elements, as the antenna masts have to be taken down before typhoons and during summer they are constantly called on to repair lightning damage caused by thunderstorms, it said.
In consideration of the austere conditions, troops stationed on Hsiaohsuehshan are on a 30-day rotation, where they are allowed 10 days of rest and recreation for every 20 days on duty, it said.
Due to the base’s remoteness and the garrison’s small size, troops on the mountain develop ties of strong brotherhood, station commander Lieutenant Commander Hsieh Chi-ho (謝吉和) told the UDN.
“Disciplinary problems stemming from personal conflict rarely occur,” he was quoted as saying.
Chuang Chung-neng (莊忠能), a naval electronic warfare specialist with a non-commissioned rank, told the newspaper that he had been deployed to 18 radar stations under the Naval Maritime and Surveillance Command before volunteering for Hsiaohsuehshan four years ago.
“I am used to the discipline and life in the mountains. If they let me, I would choose to serve here until retirement,” he said.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
RSS