President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday sought a briefing from the National Security Council (NSC) on the accidental launch of an anti-ship missile on Friday.
Tsai, who earlier yesterday returned from a trip to Panama and Paraguay, was briefed by National Security Council officials and the Ministry of National Defense.
The briefing took place from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
According to Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺), Tsai, following the briefing, instructed the Ministry of National Defense and the navy to carry out a thorough review on management, personnel training and discipline.
Tsai also asked the Ministry of National Defense to produce a plan within two months on how it can better improve its weaponry management and control, Huang said.
Saying that the government would deal with the fallout of the incident with a responsible attitude, Tsai was also quoted by Huang as directing the military to cooperate with a prosecutors’ investigation into the matter so justice can be served for the family of the captain of the Taiwanese fishing boat, who was killed in the incident.
Photo copied by Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Tsai also instructed government agencies to explain the matter to neighboring countries and China, adding that her administration is determined to maintain cross-strait, and regional, peace and stability.
Upon arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Tsai offered her condolences to the family of fishing boat captain Huang Wen-chung (黃文忠), and promised that the government would take responsibility for the incident.
“I would like to give my deepest condolences to the family of fishing vessel Hsiang Li Sheng’s (翔利昇) captain, Huang Wen-chung,” Tsai said at a news conference. “Mrs Huang is right: This should not have happened at all. I promise all our compatriots that the government will shoulder the responsibility and deal with the aftermath.”
Separately yesterday, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) also called a meeting with top Cabinet officials from 9:30am to about 12:30pm, during which he urged the Ministry of National Defense and the judiciary to launch a probe into an alleged information leak following the missile incident on Friday.
“The leak has placed national security under serious threat and in addition to having the Ministry of National Defense enhance protection of confidential information, the High Prosecutors’ Office should also conduct a thorough investigation,” Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) quoted the premier as saying at a news conference after the meeting.
Lin was referring to some people — notably Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Policy Committee executive director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) — having learned the details of the missile mishap and publishing them on the Internet before the news was officially released.
In addition to dealing with the alleged leak, Lin also asked the ministry to review and improve the standard operating procedures for firing a missile, training of relevant personnel and discipline, as well as pursuing those who should be held accountable for the accident, Tung said.
“The ministry should also take the initiative to release the non-confidential results of its investigation on both the alleged leak and the missile mishap itself, and post them on the ministry’s official Web site to address any doubts the public might have,” Tung quoted Lin as saying. “The ministry should also take the initiative to contact the victim’s family over national compensation issues.”
Additional reporting by CNA and staff writer
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS