Sea vessels from neighboring countries have repeatedly damaged submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper with outlying islands, a budget review report published by the National Audit Office showed.
Communication between Taiwan proper and outlying islands depends mainly on underwater cable communication systems, supplemented by microwave transmission and satellite systems, the report says.
Once underwater cable system malfunctions, it can severely affect communication among Taiwan proper, Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, it says.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The nation has 10 domestic submarine cables, all invested, constructed and maintained by Chunghwa Telecom, the report says.
There were 36 cases of damage caused by external forces from 2019 to last year, with an average of about seven submarine cable failures per year, it says.
Twelve submarine cable failures were recorded last year alone, the most in the past five years, the report says.
“It is reported the damage was mainly caused by the operation or anchoring of various vessels, such as sand dredgers, fishing boats and merchant ships from neighboring countries. Repairs can sometimes take more than four months to complete, which greatly affects the lives of people on the outlying islands,” it says.
Among the damaged cables is the No. 2 undersea telecom cable connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) and Lienchiang County’s Dongyin Island (東引), which was suspected of being damaged by a fishing boat anchoring on Feb. 2 last year, it says.
Another cable, connecting Caota (草漯) in Taoyuan and Lienchiang County’s Nangan Island (南竿), the No. 3 cable, was suspected of being damaged by a cargo ship on Feb. 8, resulting in the congestion of mobile communications and Internet services for more than 10,000 households in Matsu, it says.
The incident seriously affected the operations of government agencies, financial transactions, medical services and transportation, it says.
“The National Communications Commission says it has asked telecoms to reduce the risk of submarine cable damage through multiple protection mechanisms, including conducting telecom traffic diversion drills and replacing submarine cables in sections with higher failure rates. The capacity of the microwave backup system would continue to be expanded as well,” the report says.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS