The head of the National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said China’s first aircraft carrier would likely start training exercises at sea toward the end of this year.
Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) told a meeting of the the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee that while the aircraft carrier — an old carrier purchased from Ukraine in 1998, which has undergone refurbishing work in Dalian since 2002 — would commence training operations around that time, it should be noted that the vessel also has combat capabilities.
Tsai’s comment was in response to a question by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) on whether the aircraft carrier was solely for training or if it could play a combat role.
Tsai said the Chinese were also developing combat aircraft based on Russian models capable of landing in and taking off from aircraft carriers.
On rumors that Beijing could rename the Varyag, “Shi Lang,” after the Qing Dynasty admiral who conquered what is now known as Taiwan in 1681, Tsai said if this was the case, then the political implications would be obvious.
Lin told the meeting the impact of China’s first aircraft -carrier would be most felt in the South China Sea, which would compel countries in the region to strengthen their military deployment in the sea.
As Taiping Island (太平島) is very far from Taiwan, any military dispute occurring there would make it difficult for Taiwan to have the upper hand militarily.
Lin also asked Tsai to comment on the impact of a downsizing of the Republic of China military police, which usually ensures security during residential elections.
Tsai said plans by the Ministry of National Defense to cut 1,000 military police personnel and reassign 2,500 to other units would, in the long term, affect security details.
Tsai also confirmed that a new generation of secure cellphones developed by a Taiwanese firm for bureau officials would enter service tomorrow.
The most important function of the cellphone was its ability to keep calls confidential, Tsai said, adding that the tracking function has been disabled and though the cellphone does have a camera function, it is usually turned off.
The new secure cellphone has an encoded chip that enables the deletion of classified data and turns the phone into a normal unsecured cellphone if abnormal activity is detected, a bureau official said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data