Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) International Affairs Department Director Hsaio Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who has been leading a volunteer effort in Tainan County, said yesterday that on Thursday 20 volunteers were stopped by the police from distributing goods to the residents in badly affected Pitou Borough (埤頭) in Tainan County’s Madou (麻豆) Township because President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was visiting the area.
“It was ridiculous that we couldn’t go inside the borough to give the victims what they need because Ma was there,” she said.
She said that more than 10 police formed a human wall to block them from entering even though they were delivering much needed water and cleaning agents, she said.
Meanwhile, the military was forced to temporarily suspend relief work and stood in full salute in strong heat for 40 minutes on Wednesday to welcome Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏), who arrived in Taitung to survey the disaster areas.
To expedite the rebuilding process, the Hualien-Taitung Defense Command Center dispatched more than 40 soldiers to build a Bailey bridge to allow access for 18-tonne vehicles to Jhihben Township (知本).
On Wednesday at 10am, while the troops were setting up the steel frame, their commander ordered them to stop work and stand in formation to welcome Chen, who spent 40 minutes listening to briefings and talking to the press.
One witness said many of the soldiers had complained privately that they would have rather worked than stand and listen to the defense minister.
On Wednesday, flood victims hurled angry insults at Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), who went to the main rescue center and shelter in Cishan Township (旗山), Kaohsiung County, to pass out lunch boxes.
The victims told Wang there were enough volunteers and they did not need her to pass out food.
Wang jokingly responded that her purpose for being there was so that the victims could unleash their anger.
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,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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