Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday raised questions over whether the military had leaked confidential information about its accidental firing of a missile earlier yesterday, saying that a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) official had posted details about the incident on Facebook even before Premier Lin Chuan (林全) was briefed about it.
“The missile incident occurred at 8:15am, and a civilian reported the incident — the navy ship [from which the missile was fired] and the type of the missile [that was fired] on Facebook,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) wrote on Facebook. “The [civilian’s Facebook] post appeared earlier than the earliest media report on the incident at 9:13am. I suspect that someone might have leaked confidential information, and prosecutors should conduct an investigation.”
Although Wang did not give the name of the civilian, DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said it was KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元).
“[National defense officials] have said that Tsai learned about it because people living along the coast heard the noise of the missile firing,” Lo said. “That might be true, but only people in the military would have known what type of missile was fired and the name of the ship from which it was fired.”
Tsai learned about the missile firing — which hit a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing one person on board — before the premier, who was briefed about the incident at about 9am, a Cabinet official who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
In response to the criticism, Tsai told the Chinese-language Apple Daily that there was no information leak, because the information was not confidential.
DPP lawmakers also condemned the ministry for making such a serious mistake.
“According to what the ministry told me, the detonation system for the missile would not have been activated in this type of drill, so who activated the detonation system?” Wang asked. “Also, there would have been a series of checks before a missile could be fired, so what happened during the process?”
DPP caucus executive director Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said the ministry should thoroughly investigate the incident and explain to the public what happened.
“Otherwise, how can we guarantee the safe passage of civilian ships from around the world in waters surrounding the nation?” Wu asked.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it