President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) presided yesterday morning over a ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked the opening of Taichung's Chingchuankang International Airport. Three international charter flights departed from the airport.
Chen praised the completion of the airport's first-phase development, which only took six months.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"An international airport in central Taiwan has long been looked forward to by local residents. As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I was able to take an active role in negotiations with the Ministry of Defense and persuade them to accommodate civilian use of the Chingchuankang military airbase. This is a dream come true for Taichung residents," Chen said.
The airport's opening has brought about a round of political bickering over whether it is being opened prematurely.
"Construction on the Taichung International Airport can not be completed in just one phase," Chen said.
"In the past 10 years, many legislators, local representatives and social groups, no matter their political background, fought for this airport," Chen said.
"This is not the selfish work of just one person or one political party. This is something that everyone has been anticipating," he said.
"The completion of the airport is a long-term goal," said Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director General Billy Chang (張國政).
"In the future, the airport will expand to the west," Chang said, saying that details for the airport's construction from last year through 2006 had been laid out in budgeting. Chang said that the speed of future construction would depend on regional demand.
Chen called attention to the absence of two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
"Because of the close proximity of the presidential elections, neither [Hu] nor [Huang] is present at this important event," Chen said.
Both men had previously welcomed the idea of an international airport in central Taiwan.
Hu later said that he had not received an invitation until yesterday morning, which was too late for him to make arrangements to attend.
"The local government had recommended that the transfer to Chingchuankang Airport be completed in one year, followed by cross-strait direct flights in three years, and then the establishment of Chingchuankang Airport as an international facility was to come in five years' time. No one said that an international airport had to be established in half a year," Hu said, criticizing the timing of the airport's opening.
However, Chang said that while he was only fulfilling his duties as a civil servant in helping launch the airport yesterday, the CAA would insist that safety and service could not be compromised under any circumstances.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chi Kuo-tung (
Shuinan Airport in Taichung will relocate to Chingchuankang airport today, where domestic service will resume. Shuttle buses have been arranged for travelers who go to Shuinan Airport by mistake.
The three international chartered flights that departed yesterday were operated by China Airlines and Far Eastern Air Transport and were bound for Tokyo, Phuket and Palau. All three will return to CKS International Airport.
Chartered by the Taichung Chamber of Commerce, the three flights were filled to capacity. Passengers were given commemorative stamps as well as toy models of China Airlines aircraft to mark the airport's opening.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS