The heads of the nation’s four commercial ports said yesterday that the ports were fully prepared to received direct transportation from China.
The statement came in response to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) at a legislative committee meeting on whether adequate preparations had been carried out.
President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said recently that he would open direct cross-strait transportation links once he takes office.
Hsiao Ting-hsun (蕭丁訓), the Keelung Harbor bureau director-general, said the port would experience no difficulties in receiving ships directly from China, adding that “all is set.”
Lee Lung-wen (李龍文), Taichung Harbor bureau director-general, said that the harbor had been ready for nine years and was only “waiting for the government to give the green light.”
Lee also said that tests at the port showed that four vessels could navigate the harbor in two hours. He said that an estimated 4,000 passengers could travel through the port each day.
Taichung port allows direct cross-strait transportation during certain festivals, such as celebrations of Matsu, so that worshipers from China can reach the port without having to go through a third destination.
Kaohsiung Harbor bureau Director-General Hsieh Ming-hui (謝明輝) said that as an international harbor, the port was well prepared to accept passengers and cargo from all corners of the world.
Wang Chung-hsiung (王鐘雄), Hualien Harbor bureau director-general, said all preparations had been made.
Ma has said that he would allow 3,000 Chinese tourists to travel to Taiwan per day as soon as July 1.
Direct sea transportation via the small three links is heavily restricted.
Cross-strait chartered flights, meanwhile, are allowed only on special holidays when many Taiwanese living in China return home.
Most transportation must go through a third destination, usually Hong Kong.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS