President Tsai Ing-wen, former minister of national defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) and other top officials yesterday in Taipei inaugurated the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research think tank.
Feng is to serve as the institute’s chairman and former Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Lin Cheng-yi (林正義) as its chief executive officer.
The institute has seven research departments and one research center, and employs 64 people.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
It is tasked with administering research programs and international exchange initiatives, and advising the government on national security, military defense policies and regional security, as well as conducting studies on China’s military and political development.
“Taiwan is facing severe challenges in the international arena, and this underscores the necessity for establishing this think tank,” Tsai told the inauguration ceremony.
The president said she has three expectations of the institute: Helping the government stay on top of national security and strategic developments, recruiting and cultivating talent for research in these fields, and serving as a platform for interaction and collaboration with the outside world.
The institute plans to organize international conferences, and publish regular government reports and research papers, she said.
“We will improve the channels for dialogue with other nations in the region and set up a platform for mutual interaction. By enhancing mutual trust on regional security and strategic issues, we can create more possibilities for collaboration with other nations,” Tsai said.
Feng agreed, saying the institute would be an important mechanism for international collaboration and dialogue.
The institute is to have an annual budget of NT$125 million (US$4.2 million) and is to be based at the former headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense on Boai Road and Gueiyang Street near the Presidential Office Building.
The institute has hired 17 full-time researchers, all with doctorates, along with 17 research assistants, all of whom have international study and work experience, Lin said.
They are proficient in English and other regional languages, including Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian, he said, adding that their security and defense research focus on the nations where these languages are spoken.
The institute is under the auspices of the government and the Legislative Yuan, and is mandated to publish national reports to present to officials and legislators, which includes publications on annual assessments of Taiwan’s national security, advanced military defense technologies and research into the development of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Lin said.
The diplomatic corps of Taiwan’s allies, and representatives of other nations with trade offices and consulates in Taipei also attended the ceremony, including several officials from the American Institute in Taiwan.
Former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, along with executives from prominent security think tanks, including the US’ Center for Strategic and International Studies and the UK’s Royal United Service Institute, also sent pre-recorded messages of congratulations.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS