Taiwan is to develop a non-lethal graphite bomb designed to disable China's power supplies, reports said yesterday.
Should war break out, the so-called "blackout bombs" would be carried by Hsiung Feng II-E cruise missiles to paralyze power grids in China's southeastern coastal cities, the Chinese-language United Daily News said.
The bombs work by sprinkling a cloud of chemically treated carbon fibers over power supplies, causing them to short-circuit, but without killing people, the report said.
If approved, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology -- the nation's top weapons research unit -- would begin research and development of the weaponry, at a cost of up to NT$500 million (US$15.34 million), beginning next year, the report said.
The Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the claims.
Reports said the US used the graphite bomb against Iraq in the Gulf War in 1991, wiping out 85 percent of its electrical supply. A similar version was used by NATO against Serbia in 1999.
Rocky relations between Taiwan and China look set to continue after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) dismissed an offer of a peace treaty with China, saying it would be like agreeing to "a treaty of surrender."
Speaking to the International Herald Tribune last week, Chen said that China's call for the signing of a peace agreement with Taipei under the "one China" principle was made in terms that made it unacceptable.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Taiwan flexed its military muscle earlier this month, showing off two domestically developed missiles during the Double Ten National Day military parade seen as a reminder to China that it has the means to defend itself.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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