Taiwan gave the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 10,000 rifles and other sweeteners in exchange for the UAE allowing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to make an unofficial visit to the country, a local magazine said yesterday.
The Journalist weekly quoted an unnamed military source as saying that Taipei promised military, oil and aviation cooperation in exchange for Chen's Sept. 29-Oct. 1 visit to the UAE.
"Taiwan offered 10,000 self-developed T91 rifles to the UAE. When the UAE's [senior government official] Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Taiwan in June, he visited weapons plants and expressed interest in the T91," the magazine said.
"Taiwan's small arms and military gear are popular around the world because they are good quality and are not expensive. Jordan has bought thousands of T91s because it found that T91 is more powerful than the US-made rifle M16A2 and the Russian-made rifle AK47," the magazine said.
Chen made a surprise visit to the UAE after completing his visit to five Latin American diplomatic allies late last month. Local press said Chen had met with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin-Zayed an-Nahyan and other officials.
Besides military cooperation, Taiwan and the UAE discussed cooperation in the petrochemical and aviation spheres. China Airlines is also expected to add Abu Dhabi to its Taipei-Europe route starting in the winter, the magazine said.
The magazine said that to develop unofficial ties with countries which do not recognize Taipei, the government has donated -- or sold at low prices -- weapons and military equipment to dozens of countries.
Last week, national security sources said that Vice Minister of National Defense Hou Shou-yeh (霍守業) left a legislative question-and-answer session early on Sept. 28 because he had to lead a delegation to the UAE that afternoon to promote military diplomacy and other exchanges.
The UAE has reportedly always been friendly toward Taiwan, despite a lack of official ties. Abu Dhabi is said to be very interested in buying Taiwan-made small arms.
While saying that it was too early to carry out actual military exchanges with the UAE, national security officials have said that, thanks to the good reputation of Taiwan's T91 battle rifles and other small arms in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is especially enthusiastic about talks with Hou over the purchase of small arms.
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
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their