China has replaced the head of its air force and other top military leaders ahead of an important Communist Party congress next month at which President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is expected to fill several top posts with younger leaders loyal to his rule.
Lieutenant General Xu Qiliang (許其亮), a former deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) general staff, has taken over from General Qiao Qingchen (喬清晨) as head of the PLA Air Force, the official China Daily newspaper said yesterday.
Other appointments included the heads of five of seven main military regions, including the one surrounding Beijing and the Nanjing Military District tasked with making war preparations against Taiwan, the Xinhua news agency Web site said.
Yesterday's report came just days after China publicized the appointment of a new chief of general staff in charge of day-to-day operations for its 2.3 million-member armed forces, the world's largest standing military.
It was not clear exactly when any of the new appointments were made, although some of the military region commanders may have been changed as early as June, analysts said. Few of the appointments have been formally announced, in a process that has been unusually quiet even for the secretive PLA.
Hu, who is also party leader and head of the 11-member commission that exercises ultimate control over the military, has been maneuvering quietly to place allies in key positions ahead of the congress starting on Oct. 15.
Hu has also increased the representation of the air force, navy and other services in top government and party bodies, sometimes at the expense of the traditionally dominant ground forces.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS