The Matsu government unveiled a plan to attract military veterans and their families, the Matsu National Scenic Administration said yesterday.
Lee Chien-hsun (李建勳), a specialist at the administration, said the Lienchiang County Government estimated that approximately 3 million officers and soldiers had served their two-year mandatory military service on the county's islands. While some spent the entire two years in Matsu, others stayed there for a shorter period before transferring to other military bases around the nation.
Lee said that the county hosted a series of events to invite veterans to return for a visit to the military bases where they were once stationed.
“If these former servicemen bring their wives and children back to visit, the number of visitors could potentially top 12 million, or about half of the nation's total population,” he said.
Lee said the military infrastructure built before the central government lifted military control over the island in 1992 was one of Matsu's major tourist attractions.
Matsu, he said, is known for having the highest density of military tunnels in the world, adding that the Council of Cultural Affairs is planning to turn Matsu into a UNESCO World Heritage site along with several other sites around the nation.
Aside from its military legacy, Matsu has gained a reputation among bird watchers as a place to spot the endangered Chinese crested tern. Recently, Matsu's Daciou Island (大丘島) also drew attention after allowing tourists to watch the movement of Formosan Sika deer, Lee said.
The administration has remodeled an abandoned military camp at Da-aoshan (大澳山) on Matsu's Beigan Island (北竿島) and turned it into a War and Peace Memorial Park.
Yesterday, the exhibition center inside the park was opened to the public. Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Legislator Tsao Erh-chang (曹爾忠), Lienchiang County Commissioner Yang Sui-sheng (楊綏生) and about 20 veterans were invited to attend the plaque-unveiling ceremony.
Mao said he did his military service in Matsu.
While he was there, he said, he was in charge of drilling the Tangchi Tunnel (塘歧坑道) on Beigan Island, adding that the construction was completed in a year.
Recalling his time in Matsu, Mao said that he always trembled at the thought of bringing supplies to Liangdao (亮島), one of the smaller islands.
“It was such a rough boat ride,” he said. “You would start feeling nauseous before you reached the destination. The vomit and the horrible feeling you felt made you want to shoot yourself.”
Mao said he was also interested in Matsu's architectural style, which comes from the northern part of China's Fujian Province.
Mao said weather has restricted the development of tourism in Matsu because airports there are shut down whenever visibility is low. Many tourists have been afraid to come for fear their trips could be delayed by weather.
“If we emphasize Matsu as a mysterious and unique island and try to control the number of tourists in a sustainable manner, it will eventually help build up the island's reputation,” Mao said.
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
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
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