The severely damaged Glutinous Rice Bridge in Nantou's Kuohsin Township (國姓鄉) got a new lease on life yesterday when Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) visited the site and urged local officials to preserve the famous structure.
"This bridge is our historical relic and it is a miracle that it still exists today after so many natural disasters," the premier said. "We must try our best to recover it, renovate it and restore it."
The Glutinous Rice Bridge was completed in 1940. It takes its name from the fact that glutinous rice, lime and sugar were used as construction materials instead of metals. The bridge has survived through all kinds of natural disasters, including three floods and the devastating 921 Earthquake, but it has been unusable since flooding after last summer's Tropical Storm Mindulle washed parts of it away.
Hsieh initially asked local officials to try to preserve the remains of the bridge as they are now instead of repairing it, but Kuohsin Township Warden Lee Tseng-chuan (李增全) disagreed with that plan.
If repairs are not made, "The bridge will be naturally and gradually washed away and will probably be gone forever if flooded again," Lee said.
According to Nantou County's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, a blueprint for the renovation of the bridge will be completed by the end of next month and construction will begin in December at the earliest.
Nantou officials said that the bridge is easily flooded because its design did not include enough sluiceways to carry away water. Therefore the first thing technicians and architects will do is dig more sluiceways near the bridge, as repairs are conducted simultaneously.
The project will cost an estimated NT$25 million (US$789,000). Hsieh could not promise to provide that budget yesterday, but said he would support the proposal when it is submitted to the Cabinet for approval.
"In addition to its initial purpose of transportation, the bridge is also a scenic attraction in Nantou and attracts many Japanese tourists every year," the premier said. "This bridge is a miracle in the history of Taiwan's architecture -- as evidenced by the fact that it's still standing after being hit by so many natural disasters."
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
‘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
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
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