While members of the public are prohibited from taking up permanent residence on Pengchia Islet (
Born in 1950 on Pengchia, the lighthouse keeper, Peng Hsing-shih (
Peng has served in the lighthouse for 28 years, making him the most senior person on Pengchia.
PHOTO: CNA
With his family name (
During the Japanese colonial era, some Taiwanese residents are said to have relocated to the islet to seek shelter from Japanese rule.
They then gradually moved back to Taiwan proper after Japanese rule ended.
Given that Pengchia Islet remains a controlled zone under military rule , the public is not allowed to tour the island.
But more than 40 people are stationed on Pengchia, including officers of the Coast Guard Administration and marine corps, as well as personnel for marine radar observation stations and officials with the Central Weather Bureau.
There are seven lighthouse keepers on Pengchia, with one acting as the chief, four as regular keepers and the remaining two serving on a rotational basis.
But life for the lighthouse keepers can be boring.
Their wives and children are not allowed to stay live on Pengchia, and giving birth to a child on the island would be impossible.
But Peng said he is comforted by the fact that he has to work only two weeks a month.
When asked if his children will follow in his footsteps and one day serve as lighthouse keepers, the father of three daughters and one son said he is not sure.
Pengchia, also known as Tachihshan Islet (大峙山嶼), is located 55km from Keelung's harbor.
The islet is around 114 hectares in area and has a terrace-like topography, with precipices on the east, south and north ends.
A makeshift jetty on the southern shore allows boats to land. According to military servicemen, a walk around the island takes about two hours.
The islet is covered with wild grass but lacks trees, due to its thin layer of topsoil.
Pengchia depends on Taiwan proper for regular water supplies, while power generators provide only enough electricity to run the instruments at the weather station.
The government is planning to upgrade the electricity and water supplies to the islet.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we