President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday hinted that he will forge ahead with the abolition of the National Unification Council (NUC) and unification guidelines, saying that he will continue to "do the right thing" and "walk the right way."
"No matter how bad the situation is, only faith, enthusiasm and unity can give us the power to march ahead without fear," he said. "It is like a train going through a tunnel. Some people are afraid of the darkness, but as long as the train keeps moving, they'll eventually see the light and hope at the end of the tunnel."
Chen made the remarks last night at a Lunar New Year dinner held by the Association of Tainan County Residents in Taipei City at the Ambassador Hotel. Chen, a native of Tainan, said that as China increased the number of missiles targeted at Taiwan along its southeastern coast from 706 last year to 784 this year, Taiwan's giant neighbor has significantly heightened cross-strait tension and threatened regional security.
"China has aggressively expanded its military capability and is honing its combat readiness in a three-stage preparation for war against us," he said.
The Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review also indicated that China, one of the regions major and emerging powers, has the greatest potential to "compete militarily with the US and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional US military advantages," he said.
As head of state, Chen said it is his responsibility and mission to safeguard the safety of the nation. He also called on the public to take heed of China's military buildup and political ambitions after it passed the "Anti-Secession" Law about a year ago.
"The US government has publicly criticized the law and asked Beijing to right its wrong," he said. "However, a year has passed and China has further split our country."
Chen also lambasted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"Only the Taiwanese people have the right to decide the future of Taiwan, not one single party or individual," Chen said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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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