A legislative reform bill proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday aims to revive an attempt to merge the military’s four arsenals with the Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
The legislation aims to amend Article 7 and Item 1, Article 33 of the Act for the Establishment of the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (國家中山科學研究院設置條例).
As there is no legal basis for the institute to merge, or not merge with other units, the bill aims to amend the act to allow the institute to merge with other institutions to further national defense research and development, as well as to increase its manufacturing and maintenance capabilities.
A successful review of the bill, scheduled for Tuesday next week, would increase the chances of the amendments being passed in the current legislative session, ministry officials said.
With three to six months of preparation, the merger could be completed by the end of this year, they said.
The 202nd Arsenal manufactures mortars; the 205th Arsenal makes rifles and pistols; the 209th Arsenal builds armored vehicles; and the 401st Arsenal fabricates photonic equipment.
In preparation for the merger, Material Production and Manufacturing Center Commander Major General Luo Yi-chung (羅意中) has tendered his resignation and is to be hired by the institute, the ministry said.
The center and four arsenals have a total of about 3,000 employees, including military personnel, civil servants and contractors, it said.
The merger would take into consideration the rights of all those involved, the ministry said, adding that the institute would take over all assets and debts.
In related news, the nation’s embassy in Eswatini yesterday posted a video on Twitter of a ceremony in which Taiwan gifted the African ally two UH-1H helicopters, commemorating their strong ties.
The UH-1H is being phased out by the army, which said that it would keep six of the helicopters after transferring two to Eswatini.
The ceremony, held on Friday last week, was attended by King Mswati III, Swazi National Chief Defense Officer Prince Hlangusempi and Brigadier General Jeffry Tshabalala, as well as Ambassador to Eswatini Jeremy Liang (樑洪昇) and Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Guan-chung (張冠群).
King Mswati thanked Taiwan for its long-term assistance, saying that the two helicopters would be deployed to Eswatini’s borders or in humanitarian relief missions, the embassy said.
The king also reaffirmed Eswatini’s support for Taiwan’s participation in UN-related activities.
Additional reporting by Peng Wan-hsin
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS