Military: Singapore denies transfer
Singapore's Defense Ministry has denied a foreign wire service report that the ministry will move its "starlight" project from Taiwan to China's Hainan island. In response to an inquiry Wednesday from the Singaporean daily Lianhe Zaobao, a ministry spokesman said the report was completely unfounded. AFP quoted unnamed Taiwan military sources as saying last Sunday that Singapore has decided to move at least part of training facilities and some of its troops in Taiwan to Hainan. The Ministry of National Defense has denied the report. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said Tuesday that it has not heard about the reported development. Under its "starlight" project, Singapore has since 1975 sent troops to Taiwan to receive combat training.
Foreign affairs: US declares its support
In a section of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act passed Wednesday, the US House of Representatives declared its support for Taiwan as "a mature democracy that fully respects human rights," and reiterated that "it is the policy of the United States that any resolution of the Taiwan Straits issue must be peaceful and include the assent of the people of Taiwan." The act, House Resolution 1646, now goes to the Senate where final approval is expected soon. Representative David Wu, the first Taiwan-born US congressman, said that "Through this bill, Congress has expressed America's strong support for the people of Taiwan and their right to freely determine their own future." The bill also recognizes Taiwan as a non-NATO ally for the purpose of transferring defensive articles and services.
Crime: Bomb hoax suspect arrested
Taipei aviation police announced yesterday that they arrested a man involved in a bomb hoax on the EVA Airways flight taken by first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) to the US. EVA Airways received a phone call from an anonymous man Sept. 19 claiming that explosives had been planted on the plane. However, the plane was allowed to take off after a thorough search was carried out and no explosives were found. The suspect, surnamed Tsen, 33, called EVA Airways from a public phone booth in Taichung County, a police spokesman said. Having checked thousands of phone calls and conducted follow-up investigations, police found that Tsen's voice was similar to that of the suspect phone call, he said. The suspect, accused of committing intimidation and an offense against aviation security, was turned over to the Taoyuan District Court for further interrogation.
Air safety: Conference comes to Taipei
The 33rd International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) meeting will be held in Taipei from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said yesterday. This will mark the first time that the US-based international flight safety promotion organization has held its annual conference in Taiwan since its inception in 1964. The ASC, an ISASI member, obtained the right to host the 2002 ISASI congress in 1999. ASC officials said the conference will focus on accident investigation results and technologies, initiatives for the betterment of flight safety, new threats to aviation safety and future challenges. Billy Chang (張國政), director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration and ASC Managing Director Kay Yong (戎凱) will attend the three-day meeting.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
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