The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has presented about 600 medals to members of the US Armed Forces, in recognition of the help and support given to Taiwan in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, an MND official said yesterday.
The medals — bearing the words “In commemoration of the Typhoon Morakot rescue operations” — were presented to US troops on Monday by Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) at a ceremony that was also attended by William Stanton, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the MND said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who suggested awarding the medals, said that about 600 US troops participated in the search and rescue operations after Typhoon Morakot.
PHOTO: CNA
They included 500 Navy personnel from the USS Denver, an amphibious transport dock that was stationed off the coast of Taiwan during the humanitarian mission.
The medals were also conferred on members of the US Pacific Command and the US Seventh Fleet, military personnel stationed in Japan, representatives of AIT, and staff of the US Defense Department.
Lin, who was also at the ceremony, said Kao extended thanks on behalf of the Taiwan people to the US for its “brotherly” assistance.
The medals, 3.5cm in diameter, feature the national flag and an image of a rescuer carrying a disaster victim.
A total of 85,000 medals were produced at a cost of NT$1.67 million, an MND spokesperson said, adding that some will be conferred on local military personnel who participated in the search and rescue operations.
It was the first time in the 30 years since diplomatic relations between the US and Taiwan were severed that Taiwan has awarded medals to US troops.
AIT reportedly asked that the award ceremony be kept low-key.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS