The Cabinet yesterday showed an invitation letter from Leung Chun-ying (梁振英), a Beijing-favored candidate for Hong Kong’s next chief executive, to support its statement that Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had visited the territory on Sept. 5 to learn about mudslide prevention.
“We have made the letter public,” Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) told a press conference. “Now those who have accused [Wu] of going to Hong Kong to ask [Chinese authorities] for instructions, please show proof.”
In the letter addressed to “Secretary-General Wu,” referring to Wu’s position then in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Leung said he would wait respectfully for Wu and his family at 12:30pm and brief Wu about mountain protection. The letter was dated Sept. 4.
Wu has said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) asked whether he would be interested in assuming the premiership on Sept. 3 and Sept 4. Wu left for Hong Kong on Sept. 5 and returned the next afternoon. The Presidential Office announced on Sept. 7 that Ma had appointed Wu as the new premier. Wu was sworn into office on Sept. 10.
Wu’s short trip to Hong Kong right after Ma asked him about the premiership drew the suspicion of the Democratic Progressive Party, which accused Wu of discussing his premiership plans with China via Leung.
Su also presented another letter that Leung sent Wu on Aug. 20 in which Leung expressed his thanks for meeting Wu when he was in Taiwan on Aug. 14 and his hope that Taiwan’s post-disaster reconstruction work would proceed smoothly.
Another document presented by Su showed that Jeff Yang (楊家駿), Taiwan’s representative to Hong Kong, helped fixed the date and time for the meeting between Leung and Wu last month.
Leung had been invited to deliver a speech by the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation.
Su dismissed reports whether Leung was an expert on mudslide prevention, saying Hong Kong had set up its mudslide warning system in 1972.
“Although Taiwan has its own system, there are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, which was why an exchange of ideas is necessary. Premier Wu had referred [what he had learned in Hong Kong] to the Council of Agriculture for reference,” Su said.
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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