Members of the public were yesterday invited to try their hands at being explorers in one of the world's most inhospitable continents when it was announced that Taiwan's first expedition to the South Pole, intended to encourage Taiwanese scientific endeavor in Antarctica, will take place in January 2004.
The 2004 Taiwan Antarctic Expedition Executive Committee -- a task force jointly established by the National Alpine Association of Taiwan and the Antarctic Society of Taiwan -- made the announcement at a press conference yesterday.
"We will welcome members of the public to apply to take part in the expedition, as long as they join one of our two associations," said Lee Hou-chin (
The Alpine Association is an association of mountain climbers, and the Antarctic Society is an association of enthusiasts for Antarctica, some of whom have led tours to the continent.
Lee said that Antarctica, with its extreme cold, dryness, wind, unpolluted ice and seasonal changes, is an excellent resource for scientific research in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, geology and glaciation.
He said that not only advanced countries, but many developing countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia, have carried out national Antarctic research expeditions and Taiwan should follow suit.
The planned mission itself, however, will not carry out research.
"The [2004] expedition is intended to serve as a means of promoting Antarctica to Taiwanese people so that one day we can actively participate in international forums on Antarctic research."
Successful applicants will receive physical training, including two mountain-climbing expeditions, and training in communications, English and first aid. They will also receive preparatory training by psychiatrists.
"From the first explorers who landed on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1821 to today, Taiwan has never taken part in any activity regarding Antarctic research expeditions or Antarctic adventures," Lee said.
The Taiwan Fisheries' Research Institute sent four expeditions to study fish stocks in the Antarctic Ocean between 1976 and 1984.
"But those expeditions never landed on the continent," he said.
The 2004 expedition, according to the committee, would take about a month and the route would include climbing Mt. Vinson, the tallest mountain on the Antarctic continent at 4,897m, traveling to the South Pole via human-hauled sledge and visiting the US Amundsen-Scott Station.
After the expedition, Taiwan's Maritime Museum will establish a permanent exhibition showcasing documents and photos from the endeavor.
The committee plans to send six explorers but the final number will depend on the amount of funding they are able to raise. It estimates that it would need at least NT$10 million to send six explorers. It hopes to raise funds from private companies and is in talks with banks about schemes that would involve a portion of credit-card payments being used to fund the project.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS