Gov't mulls creating marine park on three northern islets

The idea came after President Ma Ying-jeou made his first-ever visit on Friday to Pengjia Islet near the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea, as tensions heated up in recent weeks over the island chain claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan.

Marine National Park Director Yang Mo-lin said the three northern islets, which cover an approximately area of 1.29 square kilometers and are located about 44km from Keelung, are rich in fisheries resources and coral reefs.

However, Yang noted that the proposal to turn the three northern islets into a national park is pending approval on an initial feasibility study from government authorities.

Besides the national park on the three islets, Yang updated the media on the progress of another national park plan involving four southern islets of Taiwan's Penghu archipelago — Siyuping, Dongyuping, Siyi and Dongyi.

Yang said that the four southern islets of Penghu, whose surrounding waters are covered with coral reef, were built up from basalt eruptions on the sea floor during the period between 10 million and 14 million years ago.

The Executive Yuan has approved an initial feasibility study on the proposal. Once the plan to turn the four islets of Penghu into a national park is passed by the Executive Yuan, it will become the ninth national park in Taiwan, Yang said.

The country currently has eight national parks, which are Kenting, Yushan, Yangmingshan, Taroko, Sheipa, Kinmen, Taijiang and Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Garment and textile firms take part in mainland fair

NEXT ARTICLE
Surrogacy issue still controversial despite increased acceptance

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit