Government officials reacted cautiously to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin's (江澤民) resignation from the chairmanship of China's Central Military Commission yesterday and warned against excessive optimism in cross-strait developments after Jiang's departure.
Jiang's resignation and Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) succession to China's top military post sparked a flurry of reactions among Taiwanese officials. "This vital step probably won't affect Beijing's Taiwan policy," said Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council. Any change in China's Taiwan policy is likely to remain unclear until the after the US presidential election and Taiwan's legislative elections are concluded, Chiu said. Jiang's move consolidated the leadership of Hu and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), according to Chiu.
"China will possibly set economic development as the country's top priority, but if this is true, it remains to be seen whether Taiwan will remain high on Beijing's priority list," he said.
The new leadership in Beijing, added Chiu, bears more good than bad news to Taiwan. The leaders tend to make group decisions, which would prevent the government from making hasty decisions, Chiu added.
"Although Jiang has stepped down, he still retains a certain level of influence. It is unlikely Hu would be able to fully control the military, making China's Taiwan policy virtually unchangeable in the short term," said Cabinet spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
"Jiang's Eight Points" principle will remain the guideline for Beijing's policy toward Taiwan, according to Chen.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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