Although the two participants facing off in the televised referendum debate held different views about whether to increase the nation's anti-missile defenses, they both called on voters to support the referendum mechanism by casting ballots on March 20.
The fourth referendum debate took place yesterday as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Yu Ching (
The referendum asks voters: "If China refuses to withdraw the missiles targeted at Taiwan and does not give up its military threats, do you agree that the government should buy more anti-missile weapons and equipment to strengthen Taiwan's defense capabilities?"
Arguing for answering "yes" to the question, Yu said that it is urgent for Taiwan to buy more anti-missiles weapons to protect itself from China, which has steadily increased its military purchases over the past 10 years.
Yu said that China's defense budget has increased by about 16 percent in the past five years, and that it has developed its space industry in recent years. Taiwan, he said, has cut its military budget in the same period.
"The military balance across the Strait will become unbalanced in a short time if we allow this situation to continue," Yu said.
Given that China has said that it will not renounce attacking Taiwan by force, Yu said that Taiwan has to increase "defensive weapons and equipment" to protect itself, rather than focusing on "offensive weapons."
"[Buying offensive weapons] will only create an endless arms race and international society will not approve of it. Moreover, Taiwan will be encumbered by its military budget," Yu said.
"The people of Taiwan should together establish a defensive mentality when it comes to national security," Yu said, stressing that supporting the referendum is the best way to embody this idea.
"Everyone in Taiwan should express the view loudly and with unity that we are determined to protect ourselves and not allow anyone to invade Taiwan," Yu said.
Kao, a professor of computer science at National Taiwan University in addition to his post with the Green Party, said that he objected to buying anti-missile weapons and to increasing the military budget, since the basic platform planks of the Green Party are opposing war, protecting the environment and pursuing peace.
Kao said that he was a legitimate debater who stood for the opposition side in terms of the question itself.
"Many people have claimed that they supported voting `no' on the referendum question when in fact they simply opposed the referendum," Kao said, saying that he was referring to debaters who had come from UFO radio (
Kao said that he has been advocating referendums since 1996, especially on the establishment of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
However, Kao said, because of a boycott by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party, the Referendum Law (公民投票法) become a "bird-cage referendum" and thus many proposals could not be submitted to a referendum.
"Therefore, I urge everyone to vote in the referendum held in March no matter whether you agree with the questions or not, because it is an opportunity that is not easy to win," Kao said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai