The whole of Taiwan is within range of the nearly 980 guided missiles which China now has aimed at the country, a senior Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said yesterday.
"These missiles indeed pose a serious threat to Taiwan," Major-General Wang Cheng-hsiao (王正霄), deputy director of the MND's intelligence department, said at a news conference yesterday.
Wang said that the accuracy of these missiles could exceed 70 percent in practical applications.
"The Chinese military has approximately 2.3 million soldiers available. The threat exists and it is growing," he said.
"Our intelligence sources show that the whole of Taiwan is within range of [the Chinese military's] missiles. By 2010, China could be capable of completing preparations for a large-scale war against Taiwan. By 2015, it could have the capacity to launch a decisive battle," he added.
Wang said that China had put into service about 60 J-10 aircraft, which are tipped to be the equivalent of the Taiwanese air force's F-16 A/Bs in terms of combat capabilities.
"Armed with these airplanes, as well as Su-27s and Su-30s, China will have air supremacy over Taiwan," he warned.
The rise of the Chinese military could also become a threat to other Asian countries, but was especially relevant to Taiwan, he said.
Confirming that China had shot down one of its own satellites with a mid-range guided missile on Jan. 11, Wang said that China was trying to elevate its international stature by demonstrating its missile capability instead of threatening Taiwan.
Nonetheless, he expressed concerns that "now that they have the ability to shoot down a satellite from the ground, it also means they have the ability to shoot down ours."
"Should war break out in the Taiwan Strait, China would be able to use its anti-satellite weaponry to attack the military satellites of other countries," including those of the US, Wang added.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
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