The Minister of the Interior, Jiang Yi-hua, made a visit to the Dongsha Islands to claim Taiwan's territorial rights on this area.

Jiang also announced that a new research center will be established there for a full scale review of local coral reefs' conditions.

The Dongsha Atoll National Park, Taiwan's first ever marine park, has officially initiated management, which will in the future, conduct physical examinations of the coral reefs.

Internal Affairs Minister Jiang Yi-Hua will also cooperated with Zhong Shan University to keep records and establish the Dongsha Marine research center.

In showing his determination to protect the coral reef habitats, he has also installed a doorplate declaring Taiwan's jurisdiction over Dongsha Islands.

Dongsha Islands are under Kaohsiung City's Qi-jing district's authority, but is located 450 km from Kaohsiung City.

It's has a 25 km circumference, and has 50,000 hectares of coral atoll.

From a birds-eye view, this reef atoll which contains abundant coral reefs and marine habitat looks similar to a wedding ring.

The Dongsha temple which is located on the island extolls the Guan gong god.

Legend has it that 37 years ago, Guan gong arrived at Dongsha on a small boat.

Jiang Yi-hua says that in the future, this island will be open to restricted tourism, but for now academic research will be the focus.

Dongsha Islands are currently off limits to the general public.

Now through a research center that will monitor marine habit, Taiwan will hopefully be able to maintain its marine rights.

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