Four islets south of Penghu County are set to be designated on Sunday as Taiwan’s ninth national park, which will officially open in October, a Ministry of the Interior official said yesterday.
The new park, situated to the east of Wang-an (望安) and Cimei (七美) islands to the south of the Penghu islands, encompasses Dongji (東吉), Dongyuping (東嶼坪), Siji (西吉) and Siyuping (西嶼坪) islets, as well as their surrounding waters.
The park covers a land area of 370 hectares and a sea area of 354.73km2 in the Taiwan Strait. Its boundary overlaps with that of Taijiang National Park in southwestern Taiwan, according to data provided by the ministry.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
The official reported during a Cabinet meeting that the four islets in the park are composed mainly of ocean basalt and are characterized by a wide array of geological features, marine biodiversity and historical evidence of human habitation.
After the national park is inaugurated, the ministry will promote the conservation of resources in the park, including the preservation of traditional settlements, setting up environmentally friendly public service facilities, promoting education and protection of the marine environment and in-depth ecological tours, according to the official.
In addition, the ministry plans to devote efforts to protecting coral reefs and conserving marine resources in the waters of the park.
Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) said the Executive Yuan approved the application for the designation of the four islets as a national park on March 10 and was to ratify the designation on the World Oceans Day on Sunday.
“The park is to be officially established this October,” Chen added.
After listening to the briefing, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) directed the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency to take measures regarding future operation and management of the park, including preserving natural resources, protecting the rights of local residents and promoting ecotourism.
Taiwan currently has eight national parks: Pingtung County’s Kenting National Park, Kinmen County’s Kinmen National Park, Miaoli County’s Shei-Pa National Park, Hualien County’s Taroko National Park, Taipei City’s Yangmingshan National Park, Nantou County’s Yushan National Park, Greater Kaohsiung’s Dongsha Marine National Park, and Greater Tainan’s Taijiang National Park.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
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
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
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