A Chinese cruise ship sailed within 2 nautical miles (3.7km) of Pingtung County’s Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan posted footage of the Gulangyu (鼓浪嶼號) cruise ship passing through waters off southern Taiwan where the vessel could be clearly seen from the shoreline With a passenger capacity of up to 1,800 people would have enough people to staff a battalion-sized military force Photo courtesy of the Taiwan ADIZ Facebook page they could pose a “serious threat to Taiwan’s security,” it said A video allegedly taken by a passenger on the ship showing the peninsula overlaid with simplified Chinese text reading: “Taiwan is China” was posted to Chinese social media Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday said that the public should be aware of the incident which appeared to be a part of Chinese “gray zone” activities which are provocative or aggressive actions that fall below the threshold of armed conflict The council would work with the Maritime and Port Bureau and national security agencies to establish a database of closely monitored vessels The cruise ship has been identified as a Bermuda-registered passenger ship After entering Taiwan’s waters around 2pm on Wednesday the ship was monitored by the Coast Guard Administration eventually exiting Taiwan’s waters toward the northeast The incident was understood to be a “united front” action by China The government has already established a cross-agency joint mechanism for managing maritime targets The coast guard is responsible for monitoring flag-of-convenience vessels funded with Chinese capital especially in sensitive areas such as undersea cable zones The Maritime and Port Bureau oversees the Regulations on the Administration of Innocent Passage of Foreign Vessels through the Territorial Sea of the Republic of China (外國船舶無害通過中華民國領海管理辦法) and it would work with national security agencies to build a vessel intelligence and tracking database After the killing of foreign sailors on Taiwanese soil and the resultant Mudan Incident of 1874 which threatened the Qing’s claims on Taiwan Chinese authorities decided to beef up defenses in the south by constructing a wall around what is today’s Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County it has the distinction of being the only city wall left in Taiwan with all of its original gates still intact Not only are the original gates still intact but most of the original wall is still standing A walk along — and often on top of — the wall is a great way to get familiar with the town and see a bit of history an hour or two on foot is enough to finish the entire loop Standing in front of the Hengchun bus station the original South Gate is visible at the end of Nanmen Road (南門路 literally “South Gate Road”) nearly straight ahead This is the most ornate of the old city gates and a fitting place to begin the walk a rail line even ran through the gate down to Nanwan (南灣) vehicle traffic heading to Kenting still leaves the city on this same road but now passes around the gate in a roundabout After taking a few moments to admire the reconstructed tower atop the gate start your tour of the wall itself by turning east along Lane 14 Remnants of the wall are visible on the until the junior high school is reached a section of the wall was demolished to make room for the schoolyard a steel-and-wood elevated walkway was built along the original wall’s path allowing pedestrian traffic to continue following the route of the old city wall without blocking the schoolyard below the walkway reconnects to the top of the original wall which is then intact all the way to the East Gate states that the gate was built in the first year of the Guangxu Emperor which connected Hengchun with Taitung County County Road 200 leaves from beside the gate leading to Jialeshuei (佳樂水) on the eastern side of the National Park where a section of the old Alangyi Trail is still preserved After climbing back up onto the wall on the other side of the road and continuing counterclockwise you will pass by a high platform with 36 poles underneath it This is where the annual “ghost grappling” (搶孤) festival takes place during which teams form human towers and try to climb up heavily greased poles to a platform above This year’s competition is set to take place this weekend with the festivities spanning from today to Sunday and the main event taking place Sunday evening which is still connected to the wall and allows both vehicle traffic through it and pedestrian traffic overtop of it The land just outside of the wall around here is still undeveloped; the landscape of wild grasses and coconut trees probably hasn’t changed much since Qing Dynasty times where a section of the wall was again removed for the road you will have been on the wall for an entire kilometer The section from the East Gate to here is the longest continuous stretch of original wall still standing you may continue on top of the wall again or follow the modern paths and alleys running beside the wall for the rest of its course Be careful walking around here as scooters run through the passage frequently too: this is the gate where a campaign truck for Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) got stuck last year A temple and plaza sit just inside the gate making this a popular spot for locals to go for a stroll or hang out The remainder of the wall passes near Henchun Old Street and the bustling business area around it Walking along the wall at night is not only quite a bit cooler but is perhaps the most photogenic time as the wall is beautifully illuminated in the parks and plazas If you start your loop of the old wall in the late afternoon you will arrive in the West Gate area just as the sky is getting dark — and just in time to turn in toward the shops or the night market for a bite to eat If you want to complete the entire loop first the wall ends rather anticlimactically across from the Presbyterian Church with the last 150 meters back to the South Gate having been demolished for roadways Exploring the wall is a great way to spend a couple of hours in Hengchun at any time of day or at any time of the year With the ghost grappling festival taking place this weekend Hengchun is sure to be livelier than usual with street performances and additional food vendors around Climbing up onto the wall is a great way to take in the party atmosphere from above or to get away from the crowds for a while if they become too overwhelming Whenever you choose to visit Hengchun next be sure to take a moment to appreciate one of Taiwan’s best preserved historical monuments Pingtung County Government adds free vaccination sessions for pet owners Dead ferret badger infected with rabies found near Neishi Station 3003TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Pingtung County Government said a dead ferret badger found at Fangshan Township’s Neishi Railway Station on Wednesday tested positive for rabies It's the first time a wild animal has been found to have rabies in the township The dead ferret-badger is also the second confirmed case of rabies in the Hengchun Peninsula this year prompting municipal officials to take action 13 townships in Pingtung County are considered rabies epidemic areas If the public finds dead carnivorous wild animals such as ferret badgers they should report them to the Animal Disease Control Center (08-7224109) for testing The center said rabies is a zoonotic disease meaning it can spread to different species The public is advised not to have contact with wild animals and to avoid letting pets run free pet owners are required to take dogs and cats to get rabies vaccinations every year to prevent rabies Those who fail to complete rabies vaccination for dogs and cats will be fined NT$30,000-150,000 (US$909-4,545) per the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases Ferret badger dies from rabies in central Taiwan Taipei intensifies rabies vaccination for pets Pingtung County urges annual rabies vaccine for pets Cash offered for dead Formosan ferret-badgers in east Taiwan 36 sea canoers rescued on trip to Taiwan's Xiao Liuqiu Kaifeng Wetland opens in southern Taiwan on Earth Day Taipei MRT reminds passengers of drinking water ban Taiwan dollar hits NT$29 per US dollar triggering currency exchange rush Central Bank steps in as Taiwan dollar posts strong single-day gain Magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes off east Taiwan Vietjet flight makes unscheduled landing in Taiwan Taiwan ranked 2nd most innovative country in world US tech earnings spark Taiwan stock market rally Four Vietnamese residents found dead in northern Taiwan Taiwan ranks 1st in Asia on World Press Freedom Index US Congress members urge Somalia to reverse Taiwan passport ban An Indian-American man studying at Taiwan’s Tsinghua University was declared dead at the hospital after a drowning incident at a popular tourist beach in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County Pingtung County Fire Department said they received a report that two people had been swept away by a rip current near Sail Rock in Kenting National Park in Hengchun Township at around 1:10 pm When firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene two people had already been plucked out of the water by a watersports business owner using a jet ski One person was conscious after managing to cling to a rock Paramedics performed CPR and rushed the man to Hengchun Tourist Hospital but he was declared dead a short time later the deceased was a Masters Degree student studying information engineering specializing in artificial intelligence at Tsinghua University He was part of a group of nine students who were visiting the area on vacation Kenting National Park Management Office said that the beach was under a red flag alert at the time of the incident Staff had raised a red flag at the beach at 9:00 am warning people not to enter the water due to dangerous conditions National park officials warned the public to obey warnings and abide by regulations to avoid unfortunate incidents from occurring in the future Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email It’s still Raghu all ze time in our hearts 😭 This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. this site is affected by big-tech/social media censorship Get Instant notification of latest news by email Taiwan English News is published by Phillip Charlier who is based in New Taipei City, Taiwan. If you have news tips or issues you want covered: Let me know. Taipei, April 3 (CNA) Sunny to cloudy weather will prevail across most of Taiwan on Thursday, with occasional showers in eastern parts of the country and on the Hengchun Peninsula in the south, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Mountainous areas south of Hsinchu County are also likely to see some scattered showers, the CWA said Thursday, following days of heavy rains in Taiwan. Meanwhile, as a cold air mass weakens, daytime temperatures are expected to rise Thursday to 24-27 degrees Celsius in the western half of Taiwan, and 21-23 degrees in the eastern half, the CWA said. However, temperatures will drop steeply at night to lows of 11-14 degrees in northern and central Taiwan and in Yilan in the northeast, and to 15-17 degrees in the south and in Hualien and Taitung in the east, the CWA warned. The CWA also warned of strong northeasterly winds on Thursday, with sustained speeds of 39-49 kilometers per hour and gusts of at least 62 kph in coastal areas of Taoyuan, Hsinchu, the Hengchun Peninsula, and Penghu and Orchid islands. The current weather conditions are expected to continue into Friday, but temperatures will remain chilly in central and northern parts of the country in the early morning due to a radiative cooling effect, the CWA said. From Saturday through Wednesday next week, isolated showers can be expected in northern and eastern parts of Taiwan and on the Hengchun Peninsula, as well as in mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, the CWA has forecast. Volume 10 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.941040 The orogenic evolution of Taiwan is thought to have occurred with a steady and southward propagating trend since the Late Miocene Recent studies suggest a two-stage collision for the Taiwan orogen and that the collision occurred simultaneously along the entirety of the island of Taiwan we evaluated 270 bathymetry profiles normal to the trench to constrain variations in the width and crest of the Taiwan accretionary prism from the northern Central Ridge to the southern Hengchun Ridge a gradual increase in the width and elevation of the accretionary prism of the Hengchun Ridge is noted Assuming that the uplift of Hengchun Ridge is dominated by the accretion of hyper-stretched continental crust (HSCC) we estimated the uplift rate of the ridge (ca 0.3 km/Ma) based on a linear regression between the HSCC and the observed depth of the prism crest we forward modeled the prism crest depth variations from 19.7°N to 23.5°N The model gives a good match to observations of the Hengchun Ridge but significantly deeper depths to the north of Hengchun Peninsula This suggests that the Taiwan orogeny had two stages: the first stage was dominated by structurally underplated HSCC and the second is a combination of the arrival of the continental shelf and arc–continent collision In addition to the widely accepted arc–continent collision our study suggests that both the location and orientation of the continent–ocean boundary play important roles in orogeny rather than a single southward arc–continent collision process the subducted plate along the Hengchun Ridge varies from oceanic crust to HSCC to continental crust moving northward the Hengchun Ridge can be used as an analog for studying the evolution of accretionary prisms developed from oceanic crust to HSCC subduction providing an opportunity to study the early orogenic history of Taiwan Island Integrating these observations with onshore geology allows us to further construct the entire tectonic evolution of the Taiwan orogeny which developed from oceanic crust subduction to arc–continental collision Although the slope could have been affected by regional processes (slumps a gradual process of slope change should provide a representative mechanism for the growth of the accretionary prism where greater and lesser slopes indicate that the growth of the prism is dominated by vertical and horizontal accretion we split the E–W convergence rate normal to the trench and calculated a trench-normal subduction plate velocity along the trench the duration of the subduction of HSCC could be estimated If the growth of the Hengchun Ridge was dominated by underplating of HSCC to the accretionary prism a positive correlation between the duration of the subducted HSCC and the depth of the prism crest should be observed the uplift rate of the Hengchun Ridge can be estimated by using linear regression to fit the data Area of the hyper-stretched continental crust (HSCC) in the study region The distribution of HSCC to the east of the Manila Trench was simply extended following the trend of HSCC west of the trench HSCC subduction normal to the trench is indicated by white dashed lines Owing to different trends between the trench and the HSCC an increasing amount of HSCC subduction occurs from Hengchun Ridge to Hengchun Peninsula (A) Amount and duration of hyper-stretched continental crust (HSCC) subduction The start of HSCC subduction occurs at 20.2°N the amount and duration of HSCC subduction increases from 0 to 220 km and 0 to 5 Ma For the onshore Hengchun Peninsula and Central Ridge the amount and duration remain constant at 240 km and 5 Ma (B) Correlation between the duration of the HSCC subduction and observed crest of the prism over Hengchun Ridge The red circle shows the correlation based on the E-W effective convergence rate of 50 mm/yr and a red solid line indicates a best-fit line The green and blue circles and dashed lines represent the correlation based on the E-W convergence rate of 45 and 70 mm/yr The positive correlation suggests that the uplift of Hengchun Ridge is dominated by the accretion of HSCC underthrusting which results in slope changes of up to 0.003 FIGURE 4. (A) Bathymetry of the Taiwan accretionary prism from 19.5°N to 24°N. Solid red lines indicate the western and eastern boundaries of the accretionary prism. Black, green, and blue dotted lines indicate possible trench locations proposed by Han et al. (2017), Lin et al. (2008), and Lacombe et al. (2001) SW of Taiwan Island (B) Variations in prism width and slope from 19.7°N to 23.5°N (C) Comparison between the modeled (red solid line) and observed prism crest (black solid line) from 19.7°N to 23.5°N The modeled duration of the subducted hyperextended continental crust is shown below The green and blue dash lines show the modeled prism crest using E-W effective convergence rate at 45 and 70 mm/yr (D) Profiles across the accretionary prism at 20.0°N representing a typical cross section of oceanic subduction hyper-stretched continental crust subduction and initial arc–continental collision FIGURE 5. Evolution of the Taiwan accretionary prim since the Late Miocene. The location of the trench is derived from Deng et al. (2020) and the area of the HSCC is modified from Li et al. (2019) Owing to differences in orientation between the Manila Trench and the hyper-stretched continental crust (HSCC) of the northern South China Sea the amount of HSCC subduction changes from south to north and has varied through time The subparallel trend between the trench and the continental margin supports simultaneous mountain building along the Taiwan orogenic belt during the first stage of the Taiwan orogeny Based on a combination of the exhumation history of the Hengchun accretionary prism and the onshore geology of Taiwan Island, our study supports a two-stage Taiwan orogen. Owing to the difference in orientation between the Manila Trench and the HSCC of the northern SCS, the amount of HSCC subduction over the Hengchun Ridge has changed from south to north (Figure 5) We use this as an analog to analyze the first stage of the Taiwan orogeny the uplift rate of Hengchun Ridge is estimated based on correlations between the duration of HSCC subduction and the observed depth of the prism crest and uses linear regression to perform the fit The initial HSCC subduction is coeval with the start of the Taiwan orogen at 6–7 Ma the uplift of Hengchun Ridge is dominated by an accretion of structurally underplated HSCC which is dominated by horizontal advection rather than vertical uplift The exhumation rate is moderate to low (ca 0.3 km/Ma) and is comparable to the exhumation rate (<0.5 km/Ma) of the first stage of Taiwan mountain formation The subparallel trend between the trench and continental margin supports simultaneous mountain accretion along the entire Taiwan orogen the second stage of the Taiwan orogeny occurred the exhumation rate of the prism accelerated significantly This higher rate was most likely caused by the arrival of a thick continental shelf intersecting the prism together with continent–arc collision Compared to the widely accepted arc–continent collision model our study suggests that both the location and orientation of the continental–ocean boundary can also play important roles in orogeny The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: https://figshare.com/s/dc28a50234beeb5d128d WD and JL helped to improve the manuscript with some suggestions All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This study is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (41890811 Scientific Research Fund of the Second Institute of Oceanography and the Innovation Group Project of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (No.311020018) We are grateful to Chuanyang Wang for his detail suggestions to improve the quality of the manuscript The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher Distribution and characters of the mud diapirs and mud volcanoes off southwest Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar South China Sea documents the transition from wide continental rift to continental break up PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Gravity anomalies of the active mud diapirs off southwest Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Crustal-scale seismic profiles across the Manila subduction zone: The transition from intraoceanic subduction to incipient collision CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Westward advance of the deformation front and evolution of submarine canyons offshore of southwestern Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar punctuated exhumation in the eastern Central Range of the Taiwan orogenic belt CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Tectonic evolution of accretionary prism in the arc-continent collision terrane of Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Temporal and spatial records of active arc-continent collision in taiwan: A synthesis CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Deformation front development at the northeast margin of the tainan basin CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar geodetic and seismological evidence for tectonic escape in SW Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar An introduction to active collision in Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Simultaneous mountain building in the Taiwan orogenic belt CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Mountain building mechanisms in the southern central range of the taiwan orogenic belt—from accretionary wedge deformation to arc–continental collision CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Crustal accretion in the Manila Trench accretionary wedge at the transition from subduction to mountain-building in Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Rifting and magmatism in the northeastern South China Sea from wide-angle tomography and seismic reflection imaging CrossRef 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transitional crust at the Manila Trench and its geophysical implications CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Geotectonic evolution of late cenozoic arc-continent collision in taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Global bathymetry and topography at 15 arc sec: SRTM15+ CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Deep seismic structure of the northeastern south China sea: Origin of a high-velocity layer in the lower crust CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Seismic imaging of the transitional crust across the northeastern margin of the South China Sea CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Erosion rates and orogenic-wedge kinematics in Taiwan inferred from fission-track thermochronometry CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Philippine Sea and East Asian plate tectonics since 52 Ma constrained by new subducted slab reconstruction methods CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Nature and distribution of the deformation front in the Luzon Arc-Chinese continental margin collision zone at Taiwan CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar GPS observation of crustal deformation in the Taiwan-Luzon Region CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Velocity field of GPS stations in the Taiwan area CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar From convergent plate margin to arc-continent collision: Formation of the kenting melange CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Ding W and Li J (2022) Exhumation history of the Hengchun Ridge and its implications for Taiwan orogenic processes Received: 11 May 2022; Accepted: 12 July 2022;Published: 24 August 2022 Copyright © 2022 Tan, Ding and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Pingchuan Tan, dGFucGNAc2lvLm9yZy5jbg== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Rain is to increase from Wednesday morning as Severe Tropical Storm Kong-Rey approaches with sea warnings to be issued as early as tomorrow afternoon the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today Kong-Rey was 1,050km east-southeast of the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) heading in a northwesterly direction toward Taiwan CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said Rainfall is to increase from Wednesday morning especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan County Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration A sea warning is possible from tomorrow afternoon while a land warning may be issued on Wednesday morning Kong-Rey may intensify into a moderate typhoon as it passes into the waters southeast of Taiwan tomorrow bringing the greatest effects on Thursday and Friday the storm is on track to hit the Taitung area on Thursday and cross over southern Taiwan before turning northeastward through the Taiwan Strait Lin said that the storm’s path is still uncertain and could even skirt the east coast without passing over the central mountain range it would be the first in 57 years to make landfall in November since Typhoon Gilda on Nov Hengchun Peninsula could see stronger winds Animated satellite image of Typhoon Yinxing 6988TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Typhoon Yinxing (銀杏) will bring rain to the north and east on Friday (Nov 8) and waves and wind to some coastal areas.  The CWA said rain is expected north of Taoyuan with showers in mountainous areas of the south.  and Green Island could also see large waves rain is expected on the north coast of Keelung and the northeast and the Hengchun Peninsula could see scattered showers The rest of the country will see partly cloudy to sunny skies over the weekend Typhoon Yinxing to bring rain to Taiwan over weekend Typhoon Yinxing could bring rain to north and east Taiwan Typhoon Kong-rey to make Taiwan landfall in afternoon Kong-rey could be biggest typhoon to hit Taiwan since 1996 Taiwan issues land warning for Typhoon Kong-rey Tropical Storm Krathon strengthened into a typhoon Sunday and is on a heading to make landfall at the southern tip of Taiwan according to Central Weather Administration forecasters The CWA upgraded the storm to a typhoon Sunday morning a few hours after issuing a maritime warning for waters south and southeast of Taiwan Krathon was located 430 kilometers southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip Krathon was moving west-northwest at 9 kilometers per hour The storm had a central air pressure of 970 hPa and the inner storm circle was packing sustained winds of 119 kilometers per hour with maximum gusts up to 155 kilometers per hour The approach of Typhoon Krathon coincides with a northeast monsoonal airflow and the combination brought heavy rain to northern and eastern coastal districts Sunday The CWA issued a heavy rain alert for the north coast The rain warning remains in effect through Sunday night The CWA is expected to issue a land warning for storm-force winds and heavy rain affecting the Hengchun Peninsula later this evening or early Monday morning Heavy torrential rain is forecast for the Greater Taipei area after making landfall on the Hengchun Peninsula Krathon is expected to travel north along Taiwan’s east coast Taiwan English News is published by Phillip Charlier who is based in New Taipei City, Taiwan. If you have news tips or issues you want covered: Let me know The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night packing maximum sustained winds of 155kph and gusts of up to 191kph Usagi was weakening and could be downgraded to a tropical storm before it makes landfall in southern Taiwan early tomorrow The impact of Typhoon Usagi is expected to be severest in the 24 hours from noon today adding that the wind radius was expected to reach Taiwan this morning Vessels operating in the Bashi Channel and waters east of the Philippines should stay alert as waves in those areas are expected to intensify A Pacific high-pressure system north of the typhoon might weaken the storm The northern system was moving southward and could also change Usagi’s course The typhoon would continue approaching the Bashi Channel then veer north-northeast before drifting northeastward Usagi would likely come closer to Taiwan than earlier forecasts indicated Typhoon Usagi is expected to bring rainfall to northern and eastern regions including localized showers in mountainous areas 11442TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Typhoon Yagi's (摩羯) outer circulation will bring heavy rain to the southeast and hot temperatures to Hsinchu and areas north on Thursday (Sept As of 2 a.m., Typhoon Yagi was located 550 km southwest of Eluanbi heading west at 11 km/h with 172 km/h sustained wind gusts up to 208 km/h, reported the Central Weather Administration (CWA) The CWA said the typhoon's outer circulation would likely bring localized heavy rain to Hualien County and the south may experience occasional scattered showers while the rest of the country will see mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies The weather bureau noted that due to clear skies and sinking air outside Yagi's outer circulation temperatures across the country could reach 33 to 36 C The CWA has issued an orange heat alert for New Taipei and Taitung County for highs hitting 36 C for three straight days A yellow heat advisory has been issued for Taipei People taking part in outdoor activities should take precautions against sun exposure and stay hydrated to avoid heatstroke there will be strong wind gusts in open coastal areas from New Taipei to Hsinchu County there is a chance of large waves along the coasts of southern Taiwan 'Extremely hot' weather forecast in north Taiwan but heavy rain likely in south Typhoon Yagi brings hot weather to west Taiwan Tropical Storm Yagi to veer south of Taiwan Tropical Storm Yagi could form Monday and may affect Taiwan The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands the typhoon’s center was 160km south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) CWA senior weather forecaster Wu Wan-hua (吳婉華) said The maximum wind speed near the typhoon’s center topped 162km it could turn into a strong typhoon or even a super typhoon if the atmospheric environment facilitates that development,” Wu said Krathon’s intensity and structure would remain intact before it begins to affect the nation and it would not start moving north until this afternoon the typhoon is not likely to move very fast after it makes landfall in southern Taiwan It is expected to move northeasterly before departing from Taiwan and to influence the country until Thursday,” she said chances for extremely heavy rainfall are high today and tomorrow in Hualien and Taitung counties as well as in mountainous areas in central CWA had detected a 7m high tide near Orchid Island (Lanyu The agency’s forecast showed tides around Taiwan could reach 2m to 4m today Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula could exceed 6m Pingtung and Chiayi counties should expect saltwater intrusion and other negative impacts with the wind and rain getting stronger in southern Taiwan at night and stronger rain and winds would also batter northern Taiwan Although the typhoon is expected to move away from Taiwan on Thursday the chances of extremely heavy rain are high in northern Taiwan while the rain is expected to ease in Hualien About 15,000 military personnel are ready to participate in rescue operations and disaster relief work The air force said it has canceled its drills tomorrow and on Thursday Hualien and Chiayi counties announced that school and work would be canceled today Work and school continue as usual today in the rest of the nation Taiwan Railway Corp has also adjusted operations of eastbound trains via North Link and South Link lines The Alishan Forest Railway would be closed tomorrow and on Thursday as well as ferry services connecting Taiwan proper and outlying islands National Tsing Hua University AI student swept away by undertow at Sail Rock Beach (Kenting National Park Headquarters photo) 7527TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Indian American student drowned on Monday afternoon (June 24) after being caught by the undertow at a beach in Kenting The 22-year-old National Tsing Hua University exchange student identified by the Mandarin surname Lo (羅) was swimming with eight other foreign students at Sail Rock Beach in Kenting National Park in Hengchun Township, reported ETtoday.  Lo and another student were then swept away by the undertow The other student was able to grab onto a rock A nearby watersports owner rode a jet ski out to look for Lo and help the other student.  the Pingtung County Fire Department received a report that a swimmer had gone missing when they arrived at the scene at 1:25 p.m. Lo and his classmate had been pulled from the water by the jet ski owner Lo was not breathing so the owner started CPR.  Paramedics continued CPR and rushed Lo to the Hengchun Tourism Hospital for emergency treatment Doctors were unable to resuscitate Lo and he was pronounced dead at 2:50 p.m Lo enrolled in the College of Engineering last September and was pursuing a master's degree highly regarded by both teachers and classmates.  National Tsing Hua University has contacted Lo's family and sent staff to assist with related matters The Pingtung County Liaison Office of the Ministry of Education Campus Security Report Center and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) have also sent personnel to assist The Kenting National Park Headquarters said that at 9 a.m indicating no swimming allowed due to the strong undertow During the summer vacation period (June 15 to Sept daily beach patrols are conducted each morning to assess conditions such as ocean currents and wave heights.  warning flags are raised at key beaches to alert visitors Tourists are urged to follow these regulations to prevent similar tragedies 20-year-old male drowns in northern Taiwan creek Woman from Philippines drowns near south Taiwan waterfall Taiwan Air Force soldier drowns after dare Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University sends volunteers Student from Myanmar drowns in New Taipei river after bet 台電) yesterday temporarily shut down the nation’s nuclear energy generation as the state-run utility started regular maintenance on the remaining reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant for 41 days 2 reactor of the nation’s only active nuclear plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) is set to be decommissioned next year The shutdown is to perform equipment maintenance and fuel replacement in preparation for the power plant’s next operating cycle Taipower would ensure sufficient power supply during the 41-day period as it aims to maintain its operating reserve margin — or spare capacity at times of peak consumption — at 10 percent during the day and more than 7 percent at night Taiwan is poised to become the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia after the No although there is a continuing debate among ruling and opposition parties as well as within society about whether to extend the service life of the Ma-anshan plant amid fears about potential power shortages Nuclear power last year accounted for 6.31 percent of the nation’s energy use which is dominated by coal at 42.24 percent and liquefied natural gas at 39.57 percent while renewable energy only contributed about 9.47 percent and hydroelectricity 1.08 percent When the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016 then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) proposed a nuclear-free homeland policy by next year setting a target energy mix of 50 percent natural gas 30 percent coal and 20 percent renewable energy but President William Lai (賴清德) is facing greater pressure to review the structure of the energy mix as public worries about the dangers of nuclear energy have been replaced by a fear of power shortages It comes as Taiwan’s power consumption is forecast to grow by an average of 2.8 percent per year through 2033 driven mainly by the ever-growing energy use in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and as the government aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 to help combat climate change Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Taiwan is “very open” to using new nuclear technology to meet surging demand from chipmakers and the AI industry — one of the strongest signs yet that the DPP government is rethinking its opposition to nuclear energy “As long as there is a consensus within Taiwan on nuclear safety and a good direction and guarantees for handling nuclear waste with this strong consensus we can have a public discussion,” Cho said on Thursday last week “We hope that Taiwan can also catch up with global trends and new nuclear technologies,” the premier said adding that he has asked Taipower to make sure that personnel related to the decommissioned reactors stay in their jobs “This is because we need to prepare for future nuclear technology developments and to respond to any potential legal changes in Taiwan,” Cho said 508TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A charter flight will take off from the Philippines capital Manila on Sept carrying five aviation inspectors and 12 engineers The trial flight is the latest effort by the local tourism sector to revive an airport that hasn’t seen regular air traffic for six years, CNA reported Friday (Sept 18). The township of Hengchun includes Kenting and a magnet for tourists during weekends and public holidays.  Its popularity has reached the ears of airline executives in the Philippines who are eager to try out charter flights to the Taiwanese destination according to the Pingtung County Government. The Dornier 328 turboprop-powered aircraft can carry 31 passengers but only supervisors from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and engineers will be on board for Monday’s flight.  The main issues at Hengchun Airport have been a strong downslope wind and the length of the runway at 1,800 meters but the flight from the Philippines will first fly around the area before landing and taxiing around to test its suitability Due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Philippines repatriates former Army officer to Taiwan Taiwan’s 7-Eleven invites Philippines to dim lights for Earth Hour Taiwan close to decision on industrial park in Philippines Taiwan's Pastaio expands with new fusion concept Philippines overtakes Singapore for Southeast Asian travelers to Taiwan Kenting struggles with falling visitor numbers in southern Taiwan This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The 1894 Hengchun County Annals (恆春縣志) contains a tale about a “foreign ship” that drifted aground in today’s Kenting area Indigenous warriors spotted the vessel and killed the entire crew which included a “barbarian (foreign) woman” who was a princess in her homeland The account states that this incident occurred during the Qing Dynasty’s Tongzhi era (1862-1875) the same fate befell the crew of the American merchant ship Rover Adding to the intrigue is the nearby Wanyinggong Temple (萬應公祠) which contains a shrine dedicated to Princess Babao (八寶 a Dutch royal who was killed along with her crew during Dutch rule of southern Taiwan — more than 200 years before the Rover Incident The human remains worshiped in the shrine were found by locals by the beach in 1931 and according to temple legend a spirit medium later revealed her identity as a Dutch princess the spirit medium instructed worshipers to allocate one-third of the temple’s space to the princess and give her a separate altar Many argue that the “princess” was actually Mercy G and that the truth was distorted as the story spread in the region National Museum of Taiwan History researcher Shih Wen-cheng (石文誠) supports this argument in the 2009 study “Did a Dutch princess come ashore How history and memories intersect” (荷蘭公主上了岸？一段傳說、歷史與記憶的交錯歷程) author of the 2016 novel Puppet Flower (傀儡花) also noticed the similarities between the two stories when doing research At the 2018 press conference announcing the adaptation of his book into the drama series Seqalu: Formosa 1867 (斯卡羅) he expressed his wishes for the temple to rectify its error and honor Mercy G The veneration of human remains found at sea was common in fishing societies across Taiwan last year edition of “Taiwan in Time” details the story of Hongmaogang Village’s Baoan Temple (保安宮) which worships a skull that allegedly belongs to the commander of a Japanese warship that sank during World War II The temple origin stories are often similar: Baoan Temple states that a spirit medium who didn’t know Japanese became possessed by the commander and suddenly began speaking in the language the spirit medium revealed the princess’s identity in English — which would fit the American narrative better than the Dutch one Wanyinggong Temple came to national attention in 2008 when ominous occurrences in Sheding Village (社頂) prompted locals to hold a seven-day ceremony to transmute the soul of the princess so she could reincarnate after remaining in the area for 300 years Shih writes that even though the Dutch were only in Taiwan for less than 40 years rich and diverse legends about the “red-hairs” persisted for centuries and it’s likely that people took details that they heard combined them with other legends and eventually these coalesced into a singular narrative Hunt had already become a princess of an unspecified foreign nation legends of the shipwrecked Babao Princess and the eight treasures taken from her corpse were already widely told in Hengchun during the 1930s when the temple’s human remains were found she was just worshiped as an unidentified Dutch princess but shortly after the temple’s renovation in 1961 another spirit medium confirmed that she was indeed the Babao Princess The belief was bolstered by the discovery of the ruins of a Dutch vessel in the 1980s The version of the story most cited today was collected by local historians during the 1960s Since it was mostly told in Han Taiwanese communities it painted indigenous people as vicious headhunters omitting the reasons why they committed the murders and the fact that they successfully negotiated with the US later Historical sources show that the indigenous Paiwan warriors claimed to be exacting revenge for an incident many years time when Westerners attacked the village and killed all but three people the Liberty Times (Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported on Sheding Village’s centuries-old taboo against raising and eating chickens some of whom still refrain from offering poultry during temple ceremonies told the paper that after the death of Babao Princess Dutch troops had returned to exact revenge but couldn’t find the village for days finally prevailing by following the crows of the roosters Records do show a devastating Dutch attack on the village in 1642 also in retaliation for an earlier incident The bit about the roosters is also mentioned in the Hengchun Annals But while there were several attempts by the US to punish the villagers following the Rover Incident the US signed a memorandum with regional chief Tauketok guaranteeing the safety of shipwrecked Europeans and Americans While Hunt’s skull and some personal items were returned during negotiations other artifacts and remains had been traded to other indigenous and Han villages which he believes helped disseminate the story in the Hengchun region identifying the princess as Margaret who came to Taiwan to search for her lover Maarten Wesselingh and Wesselingh worked in Taiwan from 1636 until he was killed by locals in 1641 the Netherlands government has confirmed that Margaret never sailed for Taiwan a column about Taiwan’s history that is published every Sunday spotlights important or interesting events around the nation that either have anniversaries this week or are tied to current events The ChuHuo Eternal Flame (恆春出火) just outside of Hengchun in the far south of Taiwan is definitely worth a stop Natural gas seeps up from the earth and ignites on this otherwise dead area of rock and sand ground There are several areas of fire to see and there are vendors in the parking lot who will sell you popcorn to pop over the eternal flames Information on this page, including website, location, and opening hours, is subject to have changed since this page was last published. If you would like to report anything that’s inaccurate, let us know at notification@afar.com. AFAR participates in affiliate marketing programs which means we may earn a commission if you purchase an item featured on our site.© 2025 AFAR LLC A Philippine charter flight arrived at Pingtung County’s Hengchun Airport yesterday morning as part of a trial run on resuming passenger operations at the facility the first passenger jet to land at the airport since 2014 The Dornier 328-110 turboprop from Platinum Skies Aviation departed Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport and arrived at Hengchun at 10:39am As part of the government’s COVID-19 prevention efforts the pilots were asked to stay on the plane and keep the cabin doors closed and the engines running during their 50-minute stopover Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) was at the airport to watch the plane arrive and greet the pilots “This is a historic moment and a milestone,” Pan said The test flight had been scheduled for June “We hope the airline would secure the aviation rights to offer charter flight services and that more travelers from neighboring countries could arrive via charter flights we plan to seek funding to revamp the airport’s facilities to ensure that it can operate sustainably,” Pan said The airport was built mainly to facilitate tours to Kenting National Park but only served passengers on domestic flights between Taipei and Hengchun The government had long debated closing the airport the Executive Yuan agreed to give the county government two more years to keep it open during which international charter flights would be allowed as part of trial operations No carriers applied to offer charters during that time the Executive Yuan gave the county two more years The county had held talks with more than 40 airlines the Mainland Affairs Council has denied the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ requests to approve six more Chinese airports for cross-strait cargo services amid the pandemic citing Beijing’s frequent dispatch of military aircraft across the Taiwan Strait Chiang Hsin-tsung’s (江新聰) grandfather would warn him to be careful of the graves outside the east gate of Hengchun (恆春) in Pingtung County It was on the way to town from their indigenous village and Chiang was told that the Han inhabitants purposely buried people there so their spirits would scare away their enemies living to the east His grandfather was probably referring to the the Lan Army Chu Braves Righteous Grave (蘭軍楚勇義塚) a mass tomb of hundreds of Qing Dynasty soldiers hidden in Hengchun’s First Cemetery were constructed by local gentry and government officials across Taiwan during the Qing era to house the remains of mostly unnamed people who had no family or funds for a proper burial This righteous grave was paid for in 1879 by military commander Yang Kai-you (楊開友) and 17 local families who renovated it in 1914 and still look after it today It is currently under review by the Pingtung County Government for historic site status With many cemeteries across Taiwan facing relocation supporters believe the designation is urgently needed to preserve this piece of history the Liberty Times (Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported on April 19 Scant information can be found about this tomb aside from a few pages in folklorist Liu Huan-yue’s (劉還月) Historic Road that Runs from East to West: Langqiao and Beinan Trail (貫穿東西的歷史大道: 琅嶠‧卑南道) The Liberty Times report states that it is a rare example of a well-preserved and that other such sites in Taiwan such as the Hunan Brave ancient tomb in Tamsui (see “Taiwan in Time: The six Braves left behind,” Nov Since many Han settlers migrated to Taiwan alone during the Qing Dynasty it was often a question what to do with their corpses if they died unexpectedly It was costly to ship the bodies back to their ancestral homes in China but there was no family cemetery to bury them in Taiwan and nobody to care for and worship the tombs Often they were placed in unmarked graves in the wilderness There are records of officials paying for the transport of bodies to China The practice of charity burials has existed in China since the Song Dynasty (960-1279) usually carried out by local gentry and government officials It was considered a virtuous deed to fund such graves and was one of the various social services the wealthy provided for the less fortunate in Taiwan There were two types of righteous graves in Taiwan according to “Study on charity cemeteries in Qing Taiwan” (清代台灣義塚探討) by Lin Yi-ling (林怡伶): public cemeteries containing many plots or one large tomb representing tens or hundreds of deceased They were usually located outside of the cities on unsettled land Qing annals show that in the early days of Han settlement in Taiwan strongmen often seized large swaths of land from peasants and left them without even a place to bury their dead the government decreed that all uncultivated land and those who tried to obstruct such burials could be punished Righteous graves began appearing shortly after The earliest recorded righteous cemetery appears in a 1695 annal a scholar named Chen Shih-chun (陳士俊) purchased mountainous land in the Fengshan (鳳山) area specifically for poor people to bury their dead Lin found a total of 220 recorded righteous graves in Taiwan more than half of them in Hsinchu and Miaoli counties These areas were settled later and involved much more violent conflict with indigenous people Lin writes that the problem of unclaimed bodies was exacerbated as the Qing transferred more troops from China to Taiwan during the 1800s they had trouble adapting to Taiwan’s environment and succumbed to its many diseases The number of soldiers grew significantly after the Mudan Incident of 1874 where a series of events culminated in a Japanese punitive expedition against several indigenous villages in the Hengchun peninsula the Qing began implementing the “open up the mountains and pacify the savages” (開山撫番) campaign resulting in increased military casualties The Lan Army was originally stationed in Tainan but it was later tasked with helping the government with its campaigns against the indigenous population They were moved to Hengchun in 1875 and helped construct the town’s walls Commander Yang took charge of them in 1877 after several indigenous uprisings took place on the east coast and stationed them around today’s Taitung City They returned to Hengchun in December 1878 The bodies in the Lan Army Chu Braves Righteous Grave are likely casualties from these conflicts The Hengchun Annals state that the Chu Braves refer to a group of warriors under the Xiang Army (湘軍) brought to Taiwan by general Sun Kai-hua (孫開華) They arrived in Taiwan after 1871 and fought in various battles Karawrawan a demak no Cepo in Amis) against the indigenous Amis in today’s Hualien the First Cemetery is unusually close to town It’s also odd that it’s located beyond the east gate — since the sun sets in the west graves are usually located on that side of the settlement He surmises that since there was still much conflict with the indigenous living to the east of Hengchun when the graves were built the burial grounds had to be located near town The bodies in the graves weren’t necessarily all soldiers; many Han Taiwanese ventured into indigenous territory to seek profit or hunt treasures their compatriots had to go collect the bodies it was convenient to place the cemetery on the east side along the major throughway since many of the soldiers died fighting indigenous people Liu writes it’s possible that the bodies were purposely placed by the east gate to scare their enemies and reassure the Han inhabitants that the spirits of these dead soldiers protected the town In addition to the Lan Army Chu Brave tomb there’s another righteous grave outside the east gate built in 1883 for soldiers from eastern Guangdong This site is also cared for by the Cheng family since it’s on their land Tsai Wen-chin (蔡文進) waited and waited for the right moment to fire the harpoon cannon He tells Yang Chen-yuan (楊政源) in the 2013 book Sea Blue Blood (海藍色的血液) that the distance between the ship and the whale was twice as far as what he had practiced With the Japanese chief harpoonist urging him on and the entire crew getting restless while the chief harpoonist got eight out of 10 “That’s 80 percent vs 100 percent,” he said proudly nearly 60 years later the government outlawed the practice and revoked all whaling licenses Launched by the Japanese in 1913 and restarted in 1955 it was a lucrative industry in the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) — the torii gate in front of the Eluanbi Shinto Shrine was even made of whale ribs local researchers led by Nien Chi-cheng (念吉成) have been interviewing the aging whalers and collecting historic material to piece together this often-forgotten past the Liberty Times (Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported that Nien will soon be holding an exhibition with never-seen material in Hengchun Photo courtesy of Lafayette Digital Repositories “The Hengchun peninsula was once a thriving habitat for whales but today there are only occasional surprise sightings,” Nien says “This exhibition is also to reflect on human greed Qing-era documents regarding whales in Taiwan indicate that residents would use their meat and blubber whenever they washed ashore Commercial whale hunting did not begin until 1913 when a Japanese company set up operations in today’s Nanwan (南灣) in Kenting National Park Using smaller boats and lacking processing equipment and this venture fizzled out after two years According to a 1994 Fisheries Extension article by Hu Hsing-hua (胡興華) in 1920 the governor-general’s office commisioned a Japanese whaling company to restart operations in Nanwan and the government then imported two whaling ships fitted with harpoon cannons from Norway and hired Norwegian experts to operate them The processed meat and oil were sent back to Japan the government only allowed two ships to operate at a time between December and March on the waters between Hengchun and Taitung The three main species hunted were humpback whales Operations were suspended in 1943 due to World War II Hsiang Teh Fishery Company (祥德漁業) began discussions with a Japanese counterpart to revive Taiwan’s whaling industry they began operations in Banana Bay (香蕉灣) further to the southeast The Japanese provided the ships and personnel while the Taiwanese built the processing facilities and port Tsai was one of the company’s first Taiwanese crewmembers almost all of the bounty was exported overseas “The meat is not suitable for Taiwanese tastes,” Tsai replies when Yang asks if Hengchun residents consumed whale meat He was given a few cans by the company to try — “It really tastes terrible!” Hsiang Teh then joined forces with the Provincial Fisheries Agency 1” (護漁一號) as the first Taiwanese-made whaling vessel This partnership ended three years later again due to lack of productivity and Hsiang Teh then purchased a Japanese ship to do it on their own Huang attributes the failure to lack of technical experts as well as unstable supply five Taiwanese staff were allowed on the ship but they were only able to provide three due to a shortage of trained whalers where its whaling ships could move around the country according to migration patterns Taiwan’s ships and processing facilities often sat idle for much of the year Ming Tai Aquatic Products (銘泰水產) obtained the 600-ton Sea Bird (海雁號) and set out in April with a crew of 26 and their success spurred other companies to vie for a piece of the pie While Taiwan was not part of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the government still limited the licenses it issued and drafted laws to regulate the industry according to international standards Only three more licenses were handed out by 1979 the IWC began tightening restrictions on whaling director of the newly established American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office noting that the US was concerned about Taiwan’s expansion of its whaling industry at a time when others were contracting theirs He sternly warned that noncompliance could lead to the US boycotting Taiwanese aquatic products The government responded that they would not encourage further development but maintained that their limited activity would not affect the whale population much The Americans continued to pressure Taiwan over the year accusing them of “smuggling” whale meat into Japan as products of South Korea and even trying to block the nation’s exports to Japan through the IWC What’s ironic is that due to Taiwan’s international status and was not allowed to attend the organization’s 1980 conference in London the government released a detailed report of its whaling activity and decided to completely ban the industry the Earth Trust organization recorded a video of a bloody dolphin hunting drive in Penghu and screened it in the US Taiwan had just enacted its Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) a year earlier and this event led to all whales and dolphins being placed on the protected list Hu suggested the rise of a new industry — whale watching the Haijing (海鯨號) vessel embarked on the nation’s first whale tourism voyage from Hualien The ship survived a fire last year and is still in operation With this month marking 10 years since the release of the box office hit Cape No the owner of the house that became home to the main character said the filming locations in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) no longer attract the crowds they once did The Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) experienced a spike in tourists following the release of Cape No which holds the record as the highest-grossing Taiwanese film the peninsula drew about 4 million visitors per year statistics released by the Kenting National Park Headquarters showed premiere of a television series — Wayward Kenting (我在墾丁天氣晴) — set in Hengchun; the release of Cape No 2008; and the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tour groups in July 2008 and independent Chinese travelers in June 2011 caused visitor numbers on the peninsula to exceed 6.5 million in 2010 and 8.37 million in 2014 the number of visitors to the peninsula last year decreased to 4.37 million due to economic woes and a drop in Chinese tourists the agency recorded only 1.76 million visitors Estimates predict visitor numbers might return to their previous annual average of about 4 million Crowd levels today are about 60 percent less than they were at their peak the owner of the house that became a home to A-ga Few tourists know that they could go to the second floor of his house to visit A-ga’s room and most have long forgotten about the post office where A-ga worked or the West Gate (西門) that the bus in the movie could not pass through who still sells souvenirs at the filming location Travel and consumption behaviors on the peninsula have not changed all that much over the past 10 years adding that although people no longer crowd the movie locations tourism is now several times what it used to be Chang said he believes that only by building on the town’s distinctive traits as highlighted by director Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) in Cape No can Hengchun’s residents develop a new pathway for tourism in the post-Cape No please first agree to the privacy policy below.The fate of Hengchun Airport in the southern county of Pingtung remains gloomy despite authorities' efforts to make the best use of it (Full text of the story is now in CNA English news archive. To view the full story, you will need to be a subscribed member of the CNA archive. To subscribe, please read here.) 3611TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 27-year-old surnamed Gu (古) died after an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) he was riding overturned and crushed him in Pingtung’s Hengchun Township on Tuesday night (Feb 13) Gu was on his Lunar New Year holiday when he and a group of five friends decided to rent ATVs. ATVs are regulated in Hengchun, though some businesses continue to flout the law and offer unsafe tourist services, per UDN The location of the accident was private property in Sigou Village (四溝里) which contained uneven terrain and several hillside trails Gu lost control on a downward slope causing the ATV to fall on him and pin him underneath.  His friends rushed to his assistance and freed him later transporting him to Hengchun Tourism Hospital He soon lapsed into a coma due to intracranial hemorrhaging and was pronounced dead at 8 p.m Private property where ATV accident occurred Hengchun Precinct officer Huang Wen-chih (黃文智) said the ATV was riding on private property in a mountainous area that is not within its jurisdiction but surrounding surveillance camera footage will be reviewed to better understand the circumstances around the case.  The case has been submitted to the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office for review Prosecutors will determine whether the operator of the ATV business has criminal liability concerning the injury or death of a customer Riding ATVs was once a popular activity for tourists in Kenting National Park allowing them to ride on beaches and grasslands and visit destinations such as Shuiwaku (水蛙窟) and Shiniu Creek (石牛溪) ATVs are prohibited on roads and other park property Local authorities have stepped up enforcement of illegal ATV operations while riders can be fined NT$3,000 (US$95.60) for operating an ATV on a roadway Some ATV operators do not take out accident insurance and others have no business registration or appropriate safety measures and equipment Police said the ATV business operator involved in the accident was not registered as a profit-making enterprise and did not have appropriate safety measures.  Pingtung County Department of Tourism Director Huang Guo-wei (黃國維) said that according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tourism Bureau "ATV Management Guidelines" promulgated last year ATV activities are prohibited on domestic beaches a draft of the Pingtung County ATV Management Ordinance stipulates that the operation of ATVs should abide by regulations with activity areas limited to recreational land that require review and approval by the county council ATV activities at Mazhou Gangzai Beach will be legally introduced in a specified area with appropriate land transfer and demarcation New recreation facility unveiled in southern Taiwan Light sport aircraft crashes in south Taiwan betelnut plantation Taiwan professor rescued from mountains week after Typhoon Gaemi Indonesian freighter runs aground on Taiwan beach during Typhoon Gaemi Kenting launches double-decker bus in southern Taiwan Taiwan president inaugurates Pingtung stray animal shelter Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information Asia & World Around Asia Taiwan--Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday that China is conducting “cognitive warfare” by spreading misinformation in addition to its regular military incursions into nearby waters and airspace intended to intimidate the self-governing island Experts have warned that China has made substantial inroads within Taiwanese mass media and could plant false narratives in social media and elsewhere to erode military morale and public confidence in the event it makes good on its threat to use force to take control of the island it claims as its own territory “The situation around the Taiwan Strait continues to be tense and the threat has never ceased,” Tsai said in a speech during a visit to an air defense and missile battalion in the eastern country of Hualien “In addition to frequent intrusions by China’s aircraft and ships using false information to create disturbance in minds of people,” the president said Tsai also referenced China’s use of drones “to increase pressure on Taiwan’s military,” following incidents in which Taiwanese troops based on islands just off the Chinese coast warned off and in once case shot down unmanned aerial vehicles that had been hovering over their positions Anti-drone defenses are included in a 12.9 percent increase in Taiwan’s defense budget for next year The rise will increase total spending to $13.8 billion Taiwan on Tuesday also launched military exercises on the Hengchun Peninsula in the far south of the island simulating ground warfare against an invading enemy aided by Apache attack helicopters “We will continue to hold the attitude of being prepared for war,” Lt Jing Feng-huang told reporters at the site of the drills “We will not shy away from war but will not seek it out.” The exercises began with snipers firing at targets followed by two Apaches blasting away at hillside targets Troops also fired rounds from M109 howitzers and 105mm armored vehicle assault guns as well as Javelin anti-tank weapons that have proven highly effective against Russian armor in the Ukraine conflict which some have likened to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan The exercises will also feature joint drills with Taiwan’s air force on Wednesday While the exercises are routine and conducted multiple times a year media were given an unusual degree of access possibly in response to the current tensions Alongside promoting Taiwan’s high-tech economy Tsai has made strengthening the island’s defenses a key feature of her second and last four-year term in office That includes bulking up the domestic defense industry as well as procuring more weaponry from the U.S. to resist a potential Chinese attack or attempted blockade the Biden administration announced a $1.09 billion sale including $355 million for Harpoon air-to-sea missiles and $85 million for Sidewinder air-to-air missiles is a $655 million logistics support package for Taiwan’s surveillance radar program Early warning air defense systems have become more important as China has stepped up military drills near Taiwan Tensions have been running high ever since Tsai’s initial 2016 election and spiked last month when U.S China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and over the island into the Pacific and sent ships and planes across the midline of the strait that had long been a buffer against outright conflict there have been at least two other congressional visits and several by governors of U.S also sent a pair of guided missile cruisers through the strait in defiance of China’s claims that the waterway China’s Defense Ministry accused Washington of “making trouble,” adding side immediately withdraw the above-mentioned arms sales plan to Taiwan and immediately cease military ties between the U.S “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army continues to train and prepare for war and will resolutely thwart any interference by an external force and separatist ‘Taiwan independence’ plots,” the ministry said in a statement on its website China sets sanctions on Taiwan figures to punish U.S. OKs $1 billion arms sale to Taiwan as tensions rise with China China keeps up pressure on Taiwan with 4th day of drills Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission This page requires JavaScript to function correctly please enable JavaScript in your browser settings first 3835TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A woman who has an intellectual disability faces a fine of between NT$200,000 (US$6,374) to NT$1 million for taking a protected sea turtle from a south Taiwan beach to her home While collecting seashells near Hongchaikeng Fishing Harbor in Pingtung County's Hengchun Township on April 3, the woman surnamed Tsai (蔡) allegedly picked up a protected green sea turtle and brought it home, reported UDN spotted the incident and reported it to the Coast Guard Administration The Pingtung District Prosecutor's Office concluded an investigation into the incident and has decided to indict Tsai on charges of hunting and capturing a protected wild animal Considering the fact that the individual has intellectual disabilities prosecutors have requested the court to take this factor into account and make an appropriate judgment Tsai found a protected green sea turtle and picked it up to take it home Wang captured video footage on a cell phone and presented the footage as evidence to Coast Guard officers Coast Guard officers found that the sea turtle was taken by a nephew of Tsai's back to the Hongchaikeng Fishing Harbor and released back into the water that same night the investigation of the case was concluded and Tsai was indicted for breaching Article 41 of the Wildlife Protection Act (野生動物保育法) which will incur a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million Dog recovers after mouth taping abuse in New Taipei warmer temperatures mean fewer male turtles Hawksbill sea turtle rehabilitated and released in northern Taiwan A seaside hill known as Guanshan (關山) in Kenting National Park earlier this week made it onto CNN’s list of “12 superb sunset spots around the world,” published in the travel section of the network’s Web site Long a popular place for locals to enjoy the sunset Guanshan is a 152m high hill a short distance outside Hengchun (恆春) Among CNN’s top spots to view the sunset are destinations like the Grand Canyon in the US said of Guanshan: “A Guanshan sunset is one of the great attractions of southern Taiwan … it offers the best viewpoint from which to see the Hengchun Peninsula a popular tourist spot in the south of the island.” What it has is beautiful hot springs and forests The pavilion adjacent to Fude Temple (Gaoshanyen) on Guanshan Trail offers the best viewing point for sunsets,” it added Looking north from Gaoshanyen Fude Temple (高山巖福德宮) one can see Dapingding Hill (大平頂) and its adjacent fishing village one sees the beautiful coastal landscape of Kenting National Park’s South Bay (南灣) a raised terrain of formerly submerged coral reefs and marine limestone the best place to view the colorful sunset is the “Sunset Platform” erected by the national park authorities According to a resident and proprietor of a nearby restaurant the best time to enjoy the scene of the sun slowly setting into the sea is from June to October it is a good opportunity to catch the clouds glowing brilliant red and orange during sunset [known as ‘fire-burning clouds’ (火燒雲) in Taiwan],” he said “Sunset at Guanshan” (關山夕照) was listed among eight popular scenic spots in the Hengchun region Kenting National Park Headquarters head Chen Chen-jung (陳貞蓉) said that Guanshan is not a big place and receives a huge number of tourists during the peak season “Due to concerns about the environmental impact nor hold new promotional activities,” she said “When tourist visits are concentrated in a few ‘star destinations,’ it is not good for the local ecological environment,” she added 7720TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Residents in Hengchun, Pingtung County have flooded local clinics and hospitals in the past week after suffering rashes similar to those that gripped Penghu County, Liberty Times reported on Thursday (Oct local residents also reported seeing large numbers of caterpillars Liberty Times cited doctors as saying the rashes could be caused by Hengchun’s famous seasonal strong winds caused by monsoons which may have spread caterpillar hair in the air and come into contact with people’s skin a physician working in Hengchun Tourism Hospital’s infectiology department confirmed with Liberty Times the hospital has seen a rise of patients with rashes lately Most rashes appear on body parts that are not covered by clothing and most patients are unaware of the cause Last week hundreds of residents in Taiwan’s outlying Penghu Island were treated for a mysterious rash While authorities concluded that the cause of the outbreak was contact with caterpillars they did not rule out other possible causes A Facebook user by the name of Roger CC Hsu, who claimed to have helped out at the Heng Chun Christian Hospital, posted multiple photos of rashes and said that there may be a rise in cases over the extended National Day weekend during which time tourists may flood into Hengchun The Tri-Service General Hospital Penghu Branch posted on Facebook on Sept saying the skin condition is nothing serious and those who are unable to visit a dermatologist may treat the rash and itchiness by cooling down The post also encouraged local residents to wear thin A Spanish man was stabbed on a beach in Pingtung County during an altercation with local fishermen One wound missed his heart by 1 centimeter According to reports at United Daily News, and Liberty Times Network 42 year-old Inecio Prio cut a fisherman’s line after it became wrapped around his leg while he was surfing at a beach in Manchou Township this morning Four fishermen confronted the surfer and an altercation followed during which Mr Prio was stabbed in the chest Prio was rushed to Hengchun Tourism Hospital for treatment Medical staff told reporters that Mr Prio suffered multiple stab wounds including one that caused a collapsed lung Hengchun Tourism Hospital Deputy Director Chen Mingzhi said that if the wound went a little deeper Prio would have died on the spot A surf shop owner said Mr Prio has been in Taiwan for over a month and went surfing every day at Jialeshui Beach PINGTUNG (TVBS News) — The 2024 Taiwan Music Festival bringing significant economic benefits to the Hengchun Peninsula generating over NT$ 1 billion in revenue.Lin Jung-chin chairman of the Tourism Industry League of Hengchun Peninsula said this was the most successful event in the past eight to nine years He thanked the Pingtung County government and all the staff of the Taiwan Music Festival for their efforts in driving local economic development 公司介紹 人才招募 節目表 主播專區 企業動態 更正與澄清 新聞自律規範 隱私權政策 網站使用協定 版權宣告 業務服務 節目版權銷售 公開招標 頂尖事務所 官方聲明 性騷擾防治措施 本網站使用Cookies以便為你提供更優質的使用體驗，若您點選下方"我同意"或繼續瀏覽本網站，即表示您同意我們的Cookies政策，欲瞭解更多資訊請見隱私權政策 A brewery and museum dedicated to beer has opened in Hengchun in on Taiwan’s south coast The 3000 Brewseum boasts 3000 beer glasses from breweries around the world and a large portrait of Mona Lisa made with 8,400 beer labels Visitors can learn about the history and science of brewing and enjoy drinking craft beers at the bar afterwards The collection includes more than 80 year old Krueger’s Cream Ale and Krueger’s Finest Beer cans that are claimed to be the two first beer cans ever made when they were produced on January 24 There is also a more than 3000 year-old clay tablet from Iraq depicting a woman drinking while having intercourse and the world’s oldest extant bottle of beer It has taken 7 years for the owner to put the collection together in the purpose-built museum. See more pictures on the owners Facebook Page The museum opened on March 21 and admission is free until June 30