Lawmakers today called for the establishment of a regional economic zone encompassing Kaohsiung, Pingtung County and Tainan to promote the region’s prosperity and build a new 24-hour international airport in southern Taiwan.
With a combined population of about 5.4 million, the three municipalities meet the conditions to form a regional economic zone, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) told a news conference at the legislature in Taipei.
The region has established industries spanning technology, agriculture, tourism, aviation and shipping, as well as a comprehensive labor force, expanding commuter areas and rich cultural diversity, making it suitable to attract large-scale corporate investment and build a self-sustaining economy, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said he successfully promoted direct flights from Tainan to Kamamoto and Okinawa in Japan, and would promote more international destinations in the future.
He also hopes to improve Tainan Airport’s facilities so that people in southern Taiwan would have more travel options and work with Kaohsiung International Airport to serve the region together, Lin said.
Tainan Airport finally has international destinations to Japan, DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said, adding that they would strive to add more flight routes before a new airport is completed.
DPP Legislator Chiu Chi-wei (邱志偉) said he would promote more policies to enhance the south’s international flight offerings and balance development between the north and south.
Kaohsiung International Airport could hopefully increase its hours of operation to coordinate with more flights, so that people in the south need not travel to Taoyuan to catch international flights, Chiu said.
If Kaohsiung had a 24-hour international airport, it would become an important hub for the people of southern Taiwan, as well as international tourists, DPP Legislator Wu Li-hua (伍麗華) said.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) suggested that the government assess the semiconductor industry’s requirements over the next decade and plan early to build an international cargo airport in southern Taiwan, possibly even in Pingtung County.
DPP Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) recommended promoting seasonal charter flights at Pingtung’s Hengchun Airport to strengthen the current airport’s role before a new one is built, adding that he would continue fighting for direct flights to Pingtung.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS