Navy commander-in-chief Admiral Miao Yung-ching (
"I made the request because I do not think any of my subordinates should be held responsible for the unsuccessful torpedo tests. If I have to step down because of it, I will do it," Miao told reporters yesterday during a recess in a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee.
Miao submitted a request that he be disciplined to Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Tang did not accept the request, but encouraged Miao to "review the problem and seek improvement," defense officials said.
At yesterday's meeting of the National Defense Committee Miao told lawmakers that he accepts responsibility for the unsuccessful torpedo tests and that he had asked to be disciplined for it.
Miao decided to take the blame last week after the navy suffered another setback testing a live torpedo following the Sept. 4 Hankuang No. 19 exercise, in which the navy's first live torpedo launched from a submarine went out of control.
The second incident occurred on Oct. 14, when the navy tested a torpedo in the sea off Pingtung County. This torpedo failed to hit the target ship. Later the same day the navy managed to successfully launch another torpedo from the same submarine.
In response to reporters' questions, Miao said that he was the one who should take the blame, because he does not think his subordinates who were involved in the tests made any mistakes.
A naval officer who is an aide to Miao said the navy's investigations show the failure of the torpedo tests can not be attributed to problems related to training or maintenance. The officer suggested that the problem lay with the torpedoes themselves.
These torpedoes were of the same kind, a heavyweight wire-guided type bought from Germany two decades ago. They were apparently imported via Indonesia, although the navy was unwilling to acknowledge this.
The navy announced the results of its investigations into the two unsuccessful torpedo tests at yesterday's committee meeting.
Investigators did not find any human error on the part of the submarine crew responsible for launching the torpedoes. They indicated that, in the Hankuang No. 19 exercise, something went wrong with the wire that connected the torpedo to the submarine from which it was launched.
In the Oct. 14 test, the torpedo deviated abnormally from its course after it was launched, but the navy is still to discover why.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
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Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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