The Department of Health is planning to visit Canada at the end of the month to evaluate the possibility of lifting the ban on Canadian beef, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, who hosted a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians and their families at the Presidential Office yesterday, told his guests that Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mao (侯勝茂) was scheduled to lead a delegation of experts to inspect Canadian beef quarantine and sanitary procedures at the end of the month.
The information obtained would serve as a reference to the department's evaluation of whether to reopen the local market to Canadian beef. Several Asian markets, including China, Japan and Taiwan, banned Canadian beef following a case of mad cow disease in Canada in May 2003.
Taiwan was the fifth-largest market for Canadian beef and the exports were worth C$20 million (NT$580 million) each year.
As Taiwan is Canada's seventh-largest source of tourists, Chen yesterday called on the Canadian government to offer visa-free travel to Taiwanese visitors.
Statistics show that an average of 100,000 Taiwanese tourists visit Canada each year. In addition, there are 15,000 Taiwanese students studying in Canada, a number that is growing by about 2,500 students per year.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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