Former minister of national defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) has been appointed Veterans Affairs Council minister, Cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka announced yesterday.
Feng fills the vacancy left by Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), Kolas said.
Chiu was appointed National Security Bureau (NSB) director-general following former bureau head Peng Sheng-chu’s (彭勝竹) resignation last month over a cigarette smuggling scandal.
Several bureau officials have been accused of trying to smuggle more than 10,000 cartons of cigarettes into Taiwan as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) returned home from an overseas state visit on July 22.
Feng is the chairman of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, the nation’s first defense think tank, and served as minister of national defense from 2016 to last year.
Feng is a retired lieutenant general and a decorated officer who has served in top posts in the military, including deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and commander of the Air Force Combatant Command.
He was also chairman of the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp from 2006 to 2008.
Feng is equally familiar with the defense industry and defense technology, Kolas said.
Also, he is adept at business management and has experience promoting international military exchanges, she said, adding that the government hopes he will help enhance international military and veterans’ exchanges.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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