The Ministry of National Defense pledged to continue its new policy of having high-ranking military officials go on TV talk shows to promote the military's NT$610 billion arms procurement project, saying this will help the public understand the military and not be misled by opposition politicians.
"We must act in accordance with public opinion and seek the public's support ourselves," said spokesman Major General Huang Suey-sheng (黃穗生) during the weekly ministry press conference on Tuesday.
"Many legislators have encour-aged us to maintain this policy and arrange for more generals to talk with the media," he said.
The ministry sent three outspoken generals to appear on a political talk show at state-run Chinese Television System on Aug. 22.
The trio discussed the military's strategy and capabilities for coping with a possible invasion by China
Lieutenant-General Chi Lin-lien (季麟連), director of the Office of Joint Operations, Training, Doctrine and Development, and Lieutenant General Lei Kuang-dan (雷光旦), commander of the 6th Field Corps, both said the military could withstand an attack for 150 days.
Some opposition lawmakers have accused the ministry of trying to launch a "media offensive."
Huang, however, said that the ministry's policy will continue, adding that some defense experts and "famous commentators" have made ambiguous or groundless remarks, misleading the public about military-related issues.
"The military must shed its mysterious image. It received a positive reaction from the public after our top-ranking generals explained their experience and training," he said.
Since the start of the new legislative session earlier this month, Minister of National Defense Li Chieh (李傑) has personally taken on the task of communicating with opposition legislators. He also approved of his staff's suggestion to arrange for more generals to appear on cable-TV talk shows.
"The people of this country are the real masters of the legislators. We think that the more efforts we make to win the people's trust and understanding, the more support we will gain in the Legislative Yuan," Huang said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS