A ministry of oceans or a council on maritime affairs should be created so that the nation can assert sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Aviation Safety Council Chairperson Hwung Hwung-hweng (黃煌煇) said yesterday.
Hwung made the remarks at a forum on emerging ocean technology and boosting the nation’s competitiveness, which was organized by the Kaohsiung City Government and the Forward-looking Society.
Apart from its territorial waters that extend for 12 nautical miles (22.2km), Taiwan can also claim sovereignty over its EEZ, which can be seven times larger than the nation’s area and extend up to 200 nautical miles, he said.
The government should demarcate its EEZ as soon as possible so that its neighbors — such as China, Japan and the Philippines — would seek negotiations, he said.
Appointed council chairperson in December 2015, Hwung is a renowned hydraulic and ocean engineering expert and was president of National Cheng Kung University from 2011 to 2015.
The nation needs more professionals and equipment to develop its offshore wind energy industry, especially when foreign developers are expected to prompt an investment of NT$2 trillion (US$67.7 billion) in the sector, forum speaker and National Taiwan Ocean University vice president Hsu Tai-wen (許泰文) said.
Many components of the industry are still wanting, such as underwater heritage documentation and techniques for welding, ocean engineering and wind turbine maintenance, Hsu said, adding that professional vessels — such as geophysical survey ships, jack-up barges, heavy-lifting ships, turbine construction vessels and service crew vessels — are also lacking.
Divers and specialists trained for public relations, negotiation or translation are insufficient, he said.
The domestic ocean engineering industry is taking off, but institutions have difficulty recruiting students, as parents cannot envision the industry’s future, Taiwan Oceanic Research Institute director Wang Chao-chang (王兆璋) said.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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
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