Executing concrete-smashing stunts and somersaults, Taiwan’s marines performed yesterday at a northern port where civilians were given a rare chance to board three warships before the navy embarks on a “friendship” tour in the Pacific.
Three of the nation’s 12 formal diplomatic allies are in the Pacific — Tuvalu, the Republic of Palau and the Marshall Islands.
The three warships, known as the Dunmu Goodwill Fleet, are to travel there after circling Taiwan, stopping at various ports to showcase the soldiers’ athletic talents.
Photo: CNA
Yesterday, they were docked at the coastal city of Keelung where spectators cheered on the marines and snapped selfies with uniformed students from Taiwan’s naval academy joining the “friendship” tour.
“I think it allows more exposure for Taiwan when they visit places and perform,” said Scott Lin, who drove from nearby Taipei. “It will help with the situation that Taiwan is currently facing.”
The navy’s friendship tour is an annual event, but this visit comes as tensions have soared between Taiwan and China.
“As tensions are rising in the enemy situation, we hope to use this opportunity to put into practice the theories we have learned,” said Chen Kuan-ting, a student of Taiwan’s naval academy who would be on the warship as part of his graduation requirement.
The students are to undergo training on the warships, “getting familiar with life on the ships and the rules to follow,” he said.
An unfurled sign displayed by marines showcasing their martial arts skills read: “Support national defence, protect the homeland.”
However, not everyone visiting Keelung Harbor had cross-strait tensions on their minds.
“It is very rare that kids get to see a warship,” said Jean Chen, who brought her son so that he could board the vessels.
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
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS