The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse in Matsu is a national historic building, the first granite lighthouse built in Taiwan, which has survived the shifts of contemporary history.
The tower is located on Dongju, one of the islets of the Matsu archipelago about 25km off the coast of China.
It was constructed in 1872 during the Qing Dynasty, based on a commerce and navigation agreement signed by the Qing administration and Great Britain following China’s defeat in the Opium Wars.
Photo: CNA
The lighthouse was designated a grade two historic building by the Ministry of the Interior in 1988.
The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse is the only one built of stone that is open to visitors.
Lighthouse director Chang Wei-lun (張維倫) said that during the late Qing Dynasty, customs offices were largely staffed at senior levels by foreigners, mainly Britons.
As a result, a British company was responsible for the construction and design of the lighthouse, and a foreigner continued to serve as the director of the lighthouse until 1949, Chang said.
The most distinctive feature of the lighthouse grounds is a 30m-long windbreak wall connecting the lighthouse and an office annex.
Chang said that when oil lamps were used for illumination, lighthouse keepers would walk along the wall between the lighthouse and the office to prevent lamps from being blown out during strong winds.
Also preserved is a rainwater collection system on an upper tier of the lighthouse, which was an important source of fresh water in the remote area.
The Tungchu Tao Lighthouse, like other lighthouses around the nation, was managed by the Customs Administration under the Ministry of Finance until 2013, when it was transferred to the Maritime and Port Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS