■ Transportation
Suicide delays MRT service
An unidentified man repor-tedly committed suicide yesterday afternoon by jumping onto the rail of the MRT's Chungho line, according to the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. The incident caused a one-hour delay for trains between the Ding-Shi and Nan Shih Chiao stations, according to Chen Wen-fu (陳文福), direc-tor of corporation's public relations office. Normal operations resumed at 1:34pm, Chen said. Police are investigating the incident.
■ Politics
Key election dates set
The election of the next president and vice president will be formally announced on Nov. 12, Huang Shih-cheng (黃石城), chairman of the Central Election Commission, said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan. He said that the election will be held on March 20 next year and that the winners will be formally announced before March 26. Candidates will be able to register between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6. Nationwide TV presentations of platforms by the candidates will be held between Feb. 21 and March 19, he said. Citizens living abroad may apply for voter registration between Nov. 12 and Feb. 9, Huang
said.
■ Defense
Army holds live-fire drill
An army artillery unit held its annual live-fire drill yesterday, firing 60 artillery shells into the sea off Taichung County, the Ministry of National Defense said. "It's an annual practice to test the effectiveness of the mortars and other field guns," a ministry spokesman said. Weapons used included 8-inch and 155mm artillery pieces with a firing range of 8km, military officials said. Separately, authorities yesterday staged a large-scale air-raid drill in central Taiwan to test the local government and public preparation for any air attack or chemical offensive from China. More than 30,000 people from the government, military and police took part in the drill, conducted in eight cities and counties.
■ Overseas Chinese
Air force welcomes visitors
More than 5,000 overseas Chinese who returned to Taiwan for the Double Ten National Day celebrations visited the Air Force Academy in Kangshan township, Kaohsiung County yesterday. They were warmly greeted by faculty members and cadets. Air force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Feng Shih-kuang (馮世寬) said that he admired the visitors for their patriotism. "In past decades, whenever our country has encountered adversities and challenges, overseas Chinese have not hesitated to extend a helping hand by either donating funds or offering volunteer services to promote the nation's cause," he said. An exhibition was held at the academy about the nation's new generation of warplanes and weapons systems, including the Indigenous Defense Fighters, F-16s, Mirages, anti-submarine helicopters and missiles.
■ Diplomacy
Hsieh heads trip to Senegal
Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), officials of Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau and fishing-industry leaders are scheduled to visit Senegal's capital Dakar on Oct. 23 and 24. The fishing ports of Kaohsiung and Senegal established a "sister relationship" in 2001. The delegation members will meet with their counterparts in Senegal, the director of the harbor bureau said yesterday.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard