Author: admin

BALTIMORE —

Dredging has begun to free a cargo ship stranded in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a week, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday.

A salvage company began dredging around the 334-meter Ever Forward on Sunday, and the work is expected to continue throughout the week, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Breanna Centeno said in an email. The grounded vessel is stable, poses no pollution threat and isn’t impacting Port of Baltimore operations, Centano said.

State and federal agencies have issued all permits, Maryland Port Administration Executive Director William P. Doyle tweeted. Doyle said dredged materials will be used to help rebuild Poplar Island, located off the Eastern Shore, that has suffered from severe erosion.

The Ever Forward was headed from the Port of Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, on March 13 when it ran aground north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The ship, operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp., became stranded outside the shipping channel, and officials have said there were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution.

Evergreen said Friday that a plan to refloat the Ever Forward involves dredging the bay’s muddy floor, releasing ballast to lighten the load and using tugboats and the ship’s main engine to free the vessel.

The Coast Guard has said officials have not yet determined what caused the Ever Forward to run aground. The ship isn’t blocking navigation in the channel, unlike last year’s high-profile grounding in the Suez Canal of its sister vessel, the Ever Given, which disrupted the global supply chain for days.

Source: Voice of America

According to the statistics of the Investment Review Committee of the Headquarters, from January to February 2011, 300 overseas investment projects were approved, a decrease of 21.47% over the same period of the previous year; Equivalent to NT$52.67679 billion), an increase of 100.91% over the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the approval of Danish businessmen CI II CHANGFANG K/S from January to February 2011 to pay NT$10.563434747 trillion to Copenhagen Infrastructure Changfang Co., Ltd. increased loan investment to reinvest in Changfang Offshore Wind Farm, and HITACHI, LTD. acquired Yongda Electromechanical Industry Co., Ltd. for NT$24,673,084,363 379 million 2,832 shares and other large-scale investments.

From January to February 2011, the number of new companies approved was 174, and the investment amount of new companies was US$73,110,893 (equivalent to approximately NT$2,193,326,800); in addition, from January to February 2011, new southbound countries were approved The number of investment projects in Taiwan was 66, a decrease of 12% over the same period of the previous year. The investment (increase) amounted to US$136.75 million (equivalent to NT$4.125 billion), an increase of 5.21% over the same period of the previous year. The main sources of investment are Singapore, Thailand and Australia.

In terms of Chinese investment in Taiwan, from January to February 2011, the number of approved Chinese investment in Taiwan was 9, an increase of 80% over the same period of the previous year; 174.81 million yuan), a decrease of 56% compared with the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the approval of the mainland-funded investor Hong Kong Commercial Waterhouse Wireless Radio Frequency Tag (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. with NT$274.5 million in January-February 2011 Large-scale investment projects such as increasing the funds used by the Taiwan branch for business operations were higher than the base period. Since June 30, 1998, when mainland investors were allowed to invest in Taiwan, the total number of approved Chinese investment in Taiwan was 1,519, and the approved investment (increase) amounted to US$2.5333352 trillion (equivalent to NT$76 billion). 560,000 yuan).

In terms of foreign investment, the number of approved (prepared) foreign investments from January to February 2011 was 80, an increase of 50.94% over the same period of the previous year; 55.44 million yuan), a decrease of 22.13% over the same period of the previous year. In addition, from January to February 2011, the number of approved (prepared) investments in new southbound countries was 23, an increase of 35.29% over the same period of the previous year. 6.3 billion 930,000 yuan), a decrease of 72.40% over the same period of the previous year; among which the larger investment amount is Vietnam, Singapore and Cambodia.

In terms of investment in mainland China, the number of approved investments in mainland China from January to February 2011 was 74, an increase of 17.46% over the same period of the previous year; NT$14.0526 billion), an increase of 10.59% over the same period of the previous year.

Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs R.O.C

China has fully militarized at least three of its artificial islands in the South China Sea, equipping them with missile systems and fighter jets, a top U.S. commander has said.

The Associated Press quoted U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino as saying on Sunday that the construction of missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities at Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross “appeared to have been completed.”

“The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) … They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems,” Aquilino said.

“They threaten all nations who operate in the vicinity and all the international sea and airspace,” he added.

This is in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reassurance that China would not militarize the islands.

Beijing has developed at least seven artificial islands in the South China Sea, creating 3,200 acres of new land since 2013, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

This is the first time U.S. officials have mentioned the deployment of Chinese fighter jets to the islands as according to Greg Poling, AMTI’s director, “no one has ever spotted fighter jets in the Spratlys so far as we know.”

In 2015, during a visit to the White House, Xi said: “Relevant construction activities that China are undertaking in the island of South — Nansha (Spratly) Islands do not target or impact any country, and China does not intend to pursue militarization.”

Xi also said that China is “committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

Aquilino told AP that “over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC.”

“They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region,” he said.

He also said that any military and civilian plane flying over the disputed South China Sea “could easily get within range of the Chinese islands’ missile system.”

China has yet to respond to Aquilino’s statement in the report but Beijing has said that it is committed to “managing differences and disputes through dialogue, and addressing disputes through negotiation, consultation, and peaceful manner, and exploring ways to achieve mutual benefit through cooperation.”

Six parties including Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam hold competing claims to the South China Sea, but China’s claims are the most expansive.

An international tribunal in 2016 rejected China’s claims but Beijing refused to accept the ruling.

Continued drills

Meanwhile in China, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration on March 19 issued a new navigation warning banning ships from entering an area in the Gulf of Tonkin for 20 days, until April 9, due to military exercises.

This area was already closed for live-fire drills from March 4 to March 15. The Taiwanese intelligence agency said on March 10 that the closure might have been for the Chinese military to carry out search-and-rescue for an aircraft which reportedly crashed in the sea earlier this month.

China has not acknowledged any plane crash.

Part of the closed area lies within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry protested, asking China to respect its EEZ and continental shelf.

China’s Foreign Ministry replied, saying that “it is reasonable, lawful and irreproachable for China to conduct military exercises on its own doorstep.”

Vietnam and China reached an agreement to demarcate their share of most of the Gulf of Tonkin in 2000 but their negotiation on the mouth of the gulf has stagnated.

Taiwanese intelligence officials have warned that as the world is focused on the war in Ukraine, China is taking advantage of the situation to “test the limits of the U.S. and other South China Sea claimants.”

Source: Radio Free Asia

Taiwan men’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (???) lost to world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets in the men’s singles semifinal at the All England Open on Saturday.

Fourth seed and world No. 4 Chou was no match for top seed Axelsen, losing 21-13, 21-15, in 48-minutes, at the prestigious Super 1000 tournament in Birmingham, England, which carries a total purse of US$1 million.

The defeat brought the head-to-head between Axelsen and the 32-year-old Chou to 14-2 in the Dane’s favor.

Chou was runner up at the 2020 All England Open, the best ever performance by any male shuttler from Taiwan in the event.

Axelsen’s opponent in the final will be Lakshya Sen of India after the 20-year-old ousted defending champion Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, world champion Akane Yamaguchi from Japan faces 20-year-old South Korean An Seyoung in the final. An defeated Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying (???) earlier Saturday in straight sets, 21-19, 21-13.

Founded in 1899, the All England Open is the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan’s top research institute, Academia Sinica, will offer scholarships to Ukrainian students and scholars, allowing them to stay in the country for at least three months amid an ongoing Russian invasion of their country.

The Taiwan Scholarship Program for Ukrainian Students and Scholars began accepting applications from March 16, the research institute said in an online announcement that same day. Applications are open until further notice.

The program is open to Ukrainian nationals who are either undergraduate, master, or PhD students, as well as Ukrainian scholars with a PhD degree in the fields of humanities and social sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, and life sciences.

According to Academia Sinica, the program will accept 15 scholars and an undisclosed number of students from Ukraine. Those who are interested in applying can visit the English-language webpage at https://institution.pan.pl/index.php/759-academia-sinica-taiwan-scholarships-for-ukrainian-students.

The program will cover the cost of round-trip flight tickets and accommodations, and provide a living expenses subsidy of NT$15,000 (US$528.70) per month for undergraduate students, and NT$20,000 a month for master and PhD students.

For scholars, the living expenses subsidy will be NT$66,950 a month, according to Academia Sinica.

The duration of the program is set at three months with the possibility of extensions.

The program is co-sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

The scholarship announcement was made after Academia Sinica had earlier said in a March 10 statement that it objected to “any and all acts of violence that destroy world peace and violate human rights.”

“At this point in time, our chief concern is the safety of Ukrainian scholars and students. We hereby call on the worldwide community to do its utmost in supporting them. It is our sincere hope that all of us can strive to restore world peace and the rules-based international order,” it said.

Taiwan’s government announced early last week that it was considering allowing Ukrainian students and scholars to come to Taiwan for temporary stays, as part of the government’s efforts to assist refugees from the eastern European country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on March 11 that Ukrainian nationals could apply to visit Taiwan if they had relatives in the country who were either Taiwan nationals or held local residency.

Currently, there are over 200 Ukrainians with residency in Taiwan.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan reported 121 new COVID-19 cases — three domestically transmitted and 118 that originated abroad — and no new deaths from the disease on Sunday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The three new domestic cases were residents of Taipei, Chiayi County, and Tainan, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) said in a pre-recorded video.

The residents of Taipei and Chiayi County are both connected to a cluster involving a wedding held in Chiayi City on March 13, bringing the number of cases recorded in the cluster to six.

Of the six, five were guests at the wedding, while one is a relative of one of the guests, Chuang said.

The CECC is still looking into the source of the cluster, he added.

The third domestic case tested positive in quarantine, and her infection is related to a cluster of unknown origin in which the first reported case was a buffet restaurant employee in Kaohsiung.

The cluster has recorded 29 cases to date, according to Chuang.

Currently, the CECC is monitoring five domestic clusters and three individual cases, all of unknown origin, in Taiwan.

Genome sequencing conducted on patients in three clusters and one individual case found that they were infected with two different versions of the Omicron variant, CECC data shows.

Two of the domestic cases reported Sunday had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots, while the third was unvaccinated.

In addition to the three new domestic cases, the CECC also reported 118 imported cases on Sunday, including 64 travelers who tested positive on arrival in Taiwan. The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed 21,905 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 15,503 domestically transmitted infections.

With no deaths reported Sunday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country remains at 853.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel