Interior minister to visit Taiping Island
ROC Central News Agency
2016/08/15 22:17:27
Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Interior Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮） will lead a group of Coast Guard officers and academics on a visit to Taiping Island in South China Sea on Tuesday, Ministry of the Interior officials said Monday.
The visit is aimed at understanding climate change issues as well as underscoring Taiwan's sovereignty over the biggest island in the Spratlys, the officials said.
Yeh will hand an address plate to Nansha Hospital on the island, which is administered by the Kaohsiung City government.
The official address is 1 Nansha, 18 Lin, Zhongxing Ward, Qijin District, Kaohsiung City.
Academics working on the Ministry of Science and Technology's South China Sea research project will be joining the group to gain first-hand knowledge of the impact of global warming on area islets, the officials said.
Because the frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions have increased, it is imperative that human beings do everything they can to protect the environment, the officials said.
Taiping Island is located in the center of the South China Sea and is endowed with a diversity of land and marine creatures, and it would be a good idea to turn it into an international research base and a hub for ecological conservation, the officials said.
The ministry is working on a plan to set up an observation post on the island, which can be operated by an international team and whose information can be shared with the international community, they added.
Other members of the group set to travel there include Coast Guard Administration head Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) and Kaoshiung city officials.
(By Claudia Liu and S.C. Chang)
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