MILITARY
TV to feature special forces
Special operations forces will be featured in a Discovery Channel program to be broadcast later this year, the result of the first cooperative project between the military and the global channel. The program will feature the rigorous training regimen that the army’s aviation special operations force, a naval underwater operation unit and combat frogmen face, the channel said in a recent statement. To film the program, the production crew traveled to the special forces training camp in Greater Taichung, a naval base in Greater Kaohsiung and, most recently, Kinmen, the channel said. Among the highlights of the coverage of the army frogmen’s arduous training in Kinmen were their long runs in cold weather and efforts to develop underwater combat capabilities in cold water, the statement said.
CULTURE
Drum festival in Tainan
Greater Tainan will kick off a six-day international drum festival on Feb. 11, so that visitors to the historic city can enjoy an art-filled Lunar New Year holiday, the organizer said yesterday. The festival, to be held at the Eternal Golden Castle, will feature seven percussion groups from Taiwan, the US, France, South Korea and Japan, the Greater Tainan Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau said. “Listening to a percussion performance at the Eternal Golden Castle, which used to be a fortress, will give visitors an entirely different experience,” an official said. Taiwanese Grammy-nominated Ten Drum Art Percussion Group and Japanese drumming group Nobushi are among the groups scheduled to perform at the festival. The performances will begin each afternoon and last into the night, Chou said, adding that the seven groups will hold joint performances at the opening and closing ceremonies on Feb. 11 and 16 respectively.
EARTHQUAKE
Quake strikes east of Yilan
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolted the northeast early yesterday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, the Central Weather Bureau said. The earthquake, which hit at 3:09am, centered off the notheastern coast 80.6km east of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 105.6km beneath the seabed, the bureau’s Seismology Center said. The strongest tremor, with an intensity of 3, was felt in the county’s Nanao Township (南澳) and neighboring Hualien County’s Heping Township (和平). The quake was felt at an intensity of 2 in Taipei and several other areas. The nation sits in an earthquake-prone area. More than 30 earthquakes rocked the nation in June last year alone, but none of them caused major damage.
WEATHER
Mercury to drop tomorrow
The current mild weather across the country is expected to last until tomorrow, after which a southward moving cold air mass from China will drive temperatures down again, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Sunny weather with some clouds prevailed across the nation yesterday, with highs of 24°C to 25°C, the bureau said. Today and tomorrow, stronger seasonal winds are likely to bring the daily highs down to 20°C in the north and 23°C in central Taiwan, the bureau forecast. Occasional showers are expected in the north and east, it said. From Thursday to Sunday, temperatures are expected to drop in areas north of central Taiwan as a cold air mass from China moves in, the bureau said. It forecast lows of 13°C to 14°C in those areas and highs of 17°C to 18°C. Northern and eastern Taiwan can expect occasional showers during that period, the bureau said.
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
NOMINAL NEWLYWEDS: A man’s family and his wife — his long-term caregiver — are engaged in a legal dogfight over the propriety and validity of the recent union A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled. According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent. Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children. His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999,
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