‘UNACCEPTABLE’: The foreign ministry said that China’s behavior broke international law, while Johnny Chiang was worried such balloons could be used against Taiwan
A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US was yesterday condemned by officials in Taipei and sparked calls for the government to plan countermeasures. The Pentagon on Thursday said it had detected a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the country. Beijing has said the balloon is a civilian meteorological device that drifted into US territory after being blown off course. The National Security Bureau and Ministry of National Defense should investigate whether surveillance balloons could be used against Taiwan and prepare to respond to such acts, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponement
INTELLIGENCE VALUE: While the US was working on recovering the balloon’s remains, China said that it reserved ‘the right to make ... necessary responses’
US President Joe Biden’s administration lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” at the move, and said it might make “necessary responses.” The craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the southeastern state of South Carolina with a missile fired from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said. It fell into relatively shallow water just 14m deep. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to China’s
RISK FACTOR: ASEAN issued a statement saying the cross-strait situation ‘could lead to miscalculation,’ but it is willing to facilitate dialogue to ensure stability in the region
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed a joint statement by ASEAN leaders voicing concerns that the situation across the Taiwan Strait could affect regional stability. The statement was issued after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat ended on Saturday in Jakarta. It was the first major meeting since Indonesia assumed chairmanship of ASEAN this year. Attendees of the meeting reiterated their determination to promote “sustainable peace, security, stability, and prosperity within and beyond the region,” the statement said. They expressed concerns about developments across the Taiwan Strait and their “implications on regional stability,” the statement said. The cross-strait situation “could lead to miscalculation, serious
THINK TANK VISIT: The former US Indo-Pacific official said that a capture of Taiwan’s outlying islands by China rather than a large-scale attack is a grave security concern
The US and Taiwan can deepen their relations on many fronts, former head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Philip Davidson said yesterday while visiting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office. Davidson is leading a six-member delegation from the National Bureau of Asian Research, a US-based think tank. They arrived on Monday and are scheduled to depart tomorrow. Tsai met with the delegation yesterday morning, welcoming the organization on its first visit to Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said in a statement. She thanked Davidson, a retired admiral, for paying close attention to matters regarding the Taiwan
The government is to spend NT$6 billion (US$200.69 million) on incentives to attract more than 6 million international tourists to Taiwan this year, including offers of free high-speed rail tickets with plane ticket purchases, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said. The budget would be funded by surplus national tax revenue from last year, according to a draft “special statute to bolster economic and social resilience and sharing economic achievement with all people in the post-pandemic era,” he said on Saturday. The discount programs include offering free high-speed rail tickets with purchases of plane tickets to Taiwan, vouchers for tourists
DEEPENING RELATIONS: MOFA thanked the two sides for pledging support, while ministers in Japan and China had a ‘necessary’ talk regarding regional peace
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the UK and Australia for pledging to deepen relations with Taiwan and for opposing any attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait. London and Canberra made the remarks in a joint statement issued on Thursday at the conclusion of the annual Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, held this year in Portsmouth, England. The meeting was attended by British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly, British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. The
NO. 14 IN THE WORLD: The report said that there is a strong link between freedom and democracy, adding that freedom plays a critical role in the well-being of people
Taiwan ranked 14th on last year’s Human Freedom Index, the highest placement among countries in Asia, two places ahead of Japan, 16 ahead of South Korea and 138 in front of China, a report published by the Washington-based Cato Institute and the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute said. The top 10 countries, in descending order, are Switzerland, New Zealand, Estonia, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, said the report, which was published on Thursday last week. Canada took the No. 13 spot, followed by Taiwan, with Germany at 18, the UK at 20, the US at 23, Ukraine at 89, Russia
‘GLOBAL SECURITY’: NATO’s secretary-general said China was becoming a ‘more authoritarian power’ that was threatening Taiwan and developing its military reach
China’s growing assertiveness and collaboration with Russia poses a threat not only to Asia, but also to Europe, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday as he sought stronger cooperation and more “friends” for NATO in the Indo-Pacific region. Stoltenberg said that China is increasingly investing in nuclear weapons and long-range missiles without providing transparency or engaging in meaningful dialogue on arms control for atomic weapons, while escalating coercion of its neighbors and threats against Taiwan. “The fact that Russia and China are coming closer and the significant investments by China and new advanced military capabilities just underlines that China poses a threat,
SELF-RELIANCE: Taiwan would struggle to receive aid in the event of an invasion, so it must prepare to ‘hold its own’ for the first 70 days of a war, a defense expert said
Taiwan should strengthen infrastructure, stock up on reserves and step up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to fight against an enemy, legislators and experts said on Tuesday last week. The comments sought to summarize what the nation should learn from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has exceeded 300 days, since Feb. 24 last year. Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that the war in Ukraine highlighted the importance of being ready for war. Taiwan’s development of an “asymmetrical warfare” doctrine and extending mandatory conscription to one year is a good start to preparation of defense against a
Any politicians visiting China must reflect the will of Taiwanese to maintain democracy and peace, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) announced a trip by party officials this week that is to include a meeting with Beijing’s top official on Taiwan. The KMT said that a delegation led by Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) is to fly to China tomorrow, where they would meet with Taiwanese in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing and other cities in central China before returning on Feb. 17. They would also stop in Beijing, where Hsia, KMT Mainland Affairs Department head
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) yesterday unveiled a promotion campaign that would include 500,000 free flights to lure back visitors, businesses and investors to the financial hub after more than three years of tough COVID-19 curbs. The “Hello Hong Kong” campaign was launched with dancers and flashing neon lights in the territory’s main convention center, next to its famous harbor, with a backdrop bearing the slogan in various languages including Russian and Spanish. Lee, speaking in English, said the campaign would show that the territory was open for tourism, and was aimed at boosting business and investment in the Chinese
‘DREAMS COME TRUE’: It was Xiao Qing-yang’s seventh nomination since 2005 and the second straight year that Taiwanese designers won for best recording package
A Taiwanese father and daughter on Sunday won the Best Recording Package design award at the 65th Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Xiao Qing-yang (蕭青陽) and his daughter Hsiao Chun-tien (蕭君恬) won the honor for their work on Beginningless Beginning, the soundtrack produced by the Tamsui-Kavalan Chinese Orchestra (淡蘭古道國樂團) for the short film Tamsui-Kavalan Trails Trilogy (淡蘭古道三部曲). Xiao, 56, gave his acceptance speech in Mandarin, expressing gratitude to his parents, ancestors, wife and all the people who walk the Tamsui-Kavalan trails. It was Xiao’s seventh Grammy Awards nomination since 2005, and the first with his daughter. Sunday’s win meant “dreams
The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday said it would delay the lifting of the indoor mask mandate, citing public health considerations and ongoing discussions on how the policy should be implemented. Earlier this week, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said officials from several ministries were working on the policy and an announcement would be made yesterday. However, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, yesterday said that the policy was still under review. Wang said its implementation would be “delayed slightly” due to three main factors. First, the center
PARTNERS IN DEMOCRACY: President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the visiting lawmakers for submitting motions and letters to the Swiss parliament in support of Taiwan
A visiting Swiss cross-party delegation yesterday urged the Swiss government to sign an economic partnership agreement with Taiwan and support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations. The delegation made the remarks during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei. The delegation comprises Swiss national councilors Fabian Molina and Mustafa Atici of the Social Democratic Party, Nicolas Walder and Leonore Porchet of the Green Party, and Yves Nidegger of the Swiss People’s Party. Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown “how fragile our rules-based multilateral world order is and how thin the thread is on which peace hangs,” Molina said. “Authoritarianism
Nine members of the US House of Representatives have called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make a stopover in Taipei on his planned trip to Beijing tomorrow and Monday in keeping with the spirit of the Taiwan Travel Act and honor what Blinken called a “rock solid” commitment from the administration of US President Joe Biden to Taiwan. The request was made in a joint letter signed by Republican representatives Tom Tiffany, Scott Perry, Dan Crenshaw, Andy Ogles, Burgess Owens, Nancy Mace, Scott DesJarles, Byron Donalds and Earl Carter. The letter was sent to Blinken on Wednesday. If Blinken visits
A police officer in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) was sentenced yesterday over a 2021 incident in which he threw a female music teacher to the ground and then handcuffed her after she refused to be questioned. The Taoyuan District Court sentenced the officer, surnamed Yeh (葉), to four months in jail for coercion by a public official and six months for offenses against personal freedom by a public official. The four-month sentence for coercion can be commuted to a fine of NT$1,000 per day, while the six-month sentence for crimes against personal freedom cannot be commuted. The case can be appealed. On April 22,
MILITARY ON ALERT: Chinese ships have been spotted near Taiwan’s maritime borders, and some have been identified as intelligence-gathering vessels, a source said
Missile tests the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) has scheduled for tomorrow and Tuesday at the missile base in Pingtung’s Jiupengwan (九鵬灣) could be a trial for the longer-range version of the Hsiung Feng II-E (雄風, “Brave Wind”) missile, which was developed under the project name Hsiung Sheng (雄昇), sources speculated. The CSIST on Thursday said that it has designated two peripheral alert zones for the tests. One covers a reverse L-shaped area that is 300km long from north to south, and 180km wide from east to west, extending out from Jiupengwan Base, reaching as far east as
DETECTING BREACHES: Capacity should be bolstered to combat Beijing’s efforts to infiltrate government, military and civil society bodies, Taipei’s security director said
Enhancing international security cooperation and combating Chinese infiltration are among the highlights of a policy outline that National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen released (蔡明彥) yesterday. Tsai released the policy outline on the bureau’s Web site three days after taking the reins of the nation’s principal intelligence agency. China’s heightened military activities around Taiwan last year were aimed at destabilizing the region and forcing changes to the “status quo,” said Tsai, who was formerly a deputy minister of foreign affairs. Taiwan must counter these efforts by improving strategic communications with friendly states and deepening integration with the international community, Tsai said. The bureau’s role
National security authorities have uncovered a Chinese cyberoperation to flood the Facebook accounts of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) with derogatory comments. The government found 825 Facebook accounts run by China’s cyberarmy that posted large numbers of anti-government comments on Tsai’s and Su’s Facebook pages, a national security source said on Saturday, asking to remain anonymous. The accounts were found to be part of China’s cognitive warfare operations that aim to deride Taiwan’s government over its close ties with the US. One comment repeatedly made by the accounts was: “Taiwan wants to become ashes of war by acting
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