A disused train station in Taitung County’s Taimali Township (太麻里), which is hailed for its beautiful views, is expected to reopen next month following more than three months of renovations.
Duoliang Village’s (多良) Duoliang Station — which is solely a tourist site after rail services there were halted in 2006 due to low ridership numbers — was closed on March 31 for upgrades.
People are not permitted on the platform for safety reasons, but the Taitung County Government is upgrading its observation deck, giving it mock tracks and a sign.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
It has also installed an “I Love Duoliang” sign next to a new path connecting the station to the Sunrise Driftwood Workshop.
Taitung County Commissioner Rao Qing-ling (饒慶鈴), Taimali Mayor Wang Chung-jen (王重仁), Daren Township (達仁) Mayor Chen Hsin-hui (陳新輝), and Taitung County councilors Weng Li-yin (翁麗吟) and Chang Cheng-hui (章正輝) visited the station on Thursday last week.
Slight adjustments have been made to improve the flow of people, Rao said.
The entrance to the observation deck has been moved to the north, giving vendors and visitors more room, she said.
People would also be able to walk between the station and the workshop, and there are plans to connect the station to Calavig, a Paiwan community in Duoliang.
County officials are expected to inspect the site and recruit vendors later this month and the station is to reopen on July 1, she said.
The renovations are part of the first phase of a NT$38 million (US$1.2 million) project by the county government to promote development of the tourism industry in Aboriginal areas, officials said.
Work is also being done in Calavig and Daren’s Nantian Coast Water Park, they said.
Rao thanked the Taimali Township Office, Duoliang Village and the Duoliang Community Development Association, adding that she is confident the work would boost tourism in Duoliang.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS