The government is scheduled to reopen parts of Taroko National Park to tourists by end of the year, after an earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale struck Hualien on April 3 and severely damaged some parts of the park, Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) said yesterday.
“Closing Taroko National Park to tourists affects not only Hualien County, but also the motivation of international tourists to come to Taiwan, as it is considered the Grand Canyon of Asia and many foreigners visit Taiwan just to see it,” Li said.
“We have set a goal of repairing the section from east of Changchun Shrine (長春祠) to Taroko Arch Gate before the end of this year. It is a less risky and safer section, and the road access can be repaired and reopened. Hualien simply cannot survive without Taroko National Park,” he added.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Aside from Taroko Gorge, the ministry might also promote other tourist attractions in Hualien that might appeal to domestic tourists, such as Chisingtan (七星潭), Liyu Lake (鯉魚潭) as well as Fuli (富里), Yuli (玉里) and Dongli (東里) townships, Li said.
“The three townships are known as the home of artists and creative industry workers, and railway tourism. They have yet to become famous among international tourists, but they could be tourist attractions for domestic travelers,” Li said.
On whether the ministry should stop working on fragile highways in mountainous areas, Li said that some of them need to be fixed in a short period, as they are access roads for residents of villages nearby.
Farmers need to access these roads to deliver their agricultural products, he said.
“However, many of these roads were constructed by cutting through slopes and river valleys, and could collapse through years for various reasons,” Li said. “In the long run, we need to find safer routes, but for now we need to bolster the safety of existing routes and reduce casualties, either by building tunnels or reinforcing slopes.”
Meanwhile, Li said the ministry would step up efforts to attract international tourists in the second half of this year.
A total of 4.1 million international tourists have visited the nation so far this year, he said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation attracted approximately 11 million international visitors per year, including those from China.
“We hope that China could soon lift the ban on group tours to Taiwan, and they could begin by allowing group travelers to visit Kinmen and Lienchiang counties,” Li said.
Due to a nationwide economic downturn, China asked its people to travel within the country and hoped that Taiwanese tourists would go there to boost its economy, Li said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at