■ Defense
Arms deal necessary: MND
Vice Minister of National Defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) yesterday called on the people to support the government's arms procurement plan, saying Taiwan must beef up its defense and counterattack capability in the face of China's continued military buildup. Tsai made the remarks while giving a speech on "national defense, trade and cross-Taiwan Strait relations" in Taichung City. Tsai pointed out that the international community generally agrees that there are three regions of crisis in the world: the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait. While China's defense budget is enjoying double-digit growth every year, the number of missiles deployed by the Chinese military targeting Taiwan has risen to more than 600 and is increasing by 60 to 70 per year, Tsai said. With defense spending as a share of the national budget declining year after year, the Ministry of National Defense has put forth a special budget proposal for the NT$610.8 billion (US$18.23 billion) arms procurement, Tsai noted. Tsai argued that Taiwan must keep its military capability strong to maintain cross-strait peace and that the military balance across the Strait in the past managed to deter China from invading Taiwan.
■ Energy
CPC to build gas tankers
Taiwan's state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) is planning to build four tankers to deliver liquefied natural gas from Qatar to the Taiwan Power Company's Tatan power plant, CPC officials said yesterday. The tankers are estimated to cost US$600 million and the CPC will invite tenders from shipbuilders later this year, the officials said. In addition to the CPC, the liquefied natural gas supplier in Qatar has expressed an interest in the project, they said. The CPC, the liquefied natural gas supplier and the shipbuilder winning the tender will form a partnership that will be in charge of building the ships, arranging the shipping schedule as well as managing and maintaining the ships, they added.
■ Diplomacy
New envoy arrives in UK
Lin Chun-yi (林俊義), Taiwan's new representative to the UK, arrived in London from Gambia to assume his post on Friday. Lin was greeted warmly at Heathrow International Airport by Taiwanese expatriates residing in the UK, as well as the staff of the Taipei Representative Office. The new representative will be briefed by office staff to learn about the London operations and will start calling on government agencies, parliament, think tanks and industrial and financial institutions next Monday. Lin holds a PhD in biology from Indiana University in the US and was a professor at Tunghai University and a member of the Environmen-tal Protection Agency before serving as ambassador to Gambia.
■ Politics
US anti-CCP march planned
About 30 Chinese groups in the US plan to stage a march in Washington today to protest against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and urging Chinese around the world to end communism. The march, staged to show solidarity with a campaign to end communism initiated by 60 private and human rights groups around the world, is aimed at encouraging CCP members to desert their party. Organizers of the march said the campaign was triggered by nine anti-communism articles published on an online Chinese-language weekly, the Epoch Times. They said the articles have prompted a "communism-deserting wave" in China, to the alarm of Beijing leaders.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
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