A NT$49.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) government project to improve the Suhua Highway (Highway No. 9) along the nation’s east coast is expected to be completed by 2019, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
The project, aimed at improving road safety and reducing driving times between Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) and Hualien County, is divided into three sections: Suao to Dongao (東澳); Nanao (南澳) to Heping (和平); and Hejhong (和中) to Hualien’s Dacingshuei (大清水), according to a statement presented to the legislature about the status of transportation projects in eastern Taiwan
The highway is the main road connecting southern Yilan to Hualien, and its winding, narrow roads overlooking the Pacific Ocean are the scene of frequent accidents and are vulnerable to landslides.
Calls for improvement gained urgency in 2010 after torrential rains from Typhoon Megi triggered lethal landslides that killed 26 people traveling on the road.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railways Administration has purchased 136 Puyuma express trains since 2001 to increase passenger capacity along the eastern railway line and plans to purchase 600 intercity passenger cars over the next decade to boost railway capacity, according to the statement.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from