A Chinese military drone was spotted conducting reconnaissance off Taitung County as President William Lai (賴清德) visited Pingtung County this morning to inspect a drill of the armed forces’ precision-strike capabilities, prompting the military to closely monitor its actions. Today was the final day of a three-day military exercise at Jioupeng Base (九鵬基地) to test the joint combat capabilities of the armed forces and coast guard. The exercise began on Wednesday simulating air defense interception and yesterday tested long-range strike capabilities and new air defense weapons. This morning, the military conducted a final exercise involving air defense, anti-ship and drone operations. Military sources said
‘GLOBAL WARNING’: The infiltration is not just a local problem, as Beijing has been deploying the same tactics worldwide against Western democracies, a report said
Between 50,000 and 100,000 Chinese spies are operating in Taiwan, far more than the National Security Bureau’s previous estimate of 5,000, German journalist and author Jurgen Kremb said on Monday. Kremb presented his research, titled “The War of Spies: How China’s Intelligence Services Are Infiltrating Taiwan — and What Europe Must Learn from It,” at a joint event held by the Taiwan offices of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Values Center for Security Policy. The report was published in June in the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Prospect & Exploration Monthly (展望與探索月刊). By spies, he said he was referring to informants,
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms
As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
CALL FOR CHANGE: They urged the UN to facilitate Taiwan’s involvement in the body, recognize its peace efforts and to work with members in preventing military conflict
Representatives to the UN from five of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies sent a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday, calling for the country’s inclusion in the body. Allies in the letter sent ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate made three demands in support of Taiwan: inclusion, recognition and camaraderie. They implored the UN to seek an appropriate way to facilitate Taiwan’s meaningful involvement in the world governing body, saying that UN Resolution 2758, which accepted the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a member of the UN, does not exclude Taiwan. Beijing claims that the
RARE PEEK: The footage released showed one of the bears staying in a cave for as long as 70 days, providing the first record of Formosan black bear’s overwintering
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday released tracking records of released Formosan black bears for the first time, showing that they get much closer to human settlements than previously thought. The agency said it had captured two bears, Da Qu-ali (達古阿里) and Aziman (阿里曼), in indigenous villages in Hualien County and began to track them with a camera-mounted satellite collar after releasing them back into the wild. The results confirmed that the bears have moved from deep mountain areas into lowland hills closer to human communities, leading to an increase in human-bear conflicts, it said. The agency has introduced artificial intelligence-assisted early
WASHINGTON MEETING: Japan’s Hirofumi Takinami said participants rejected the idea that the US should limit its defensive perimeter to the Second Island Chain
US and Japanese lawmakers agree that the US must defend the First Island Chain, including Taiwan, and should not fall back to the Second Island Chain, while “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency and therefore a US-Japan alliance contingency,” media reported after a meeting between officials of the two nations in Washington on Tuesday. A delegation of Japanese lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party met with US Senator Thom Tillis, co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, and US Representative Ami Bera, co-chair of the US Congressional Taiwan caucus, to discuss issues concerning East Asia and the Taiwan Strait. The Japanese and
Taiwanese Tsai Chin-shu (蔡金樹), who had been imprisoned in China for engaging in activity that “endangers national security,” said on Facebook on Friday that he has returned to Taiwan. Tsai, chairman of the Southern Taiwan Union of Cross-strait Relations Associations, had traveled frequently between Taiwan and China for years, and at one time ran a trading company in China’s Pingtan. In July 2018, he traveled to Quanzhou, Fujian Province, to attend a cross-strait food trade fair and stayed at a hotel in Xiamen. He checked out the following day and then disappeared. His family had made repeated appeals to the authorities
The US remains committed to maintaining deterrence along the First Island Chain, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung (沈有忠) said yesterday. Taiwan remained in close communication with the US, Shen said, adding that messages received by Taipei indicated that maintaining deterrence along the First Island Chain remained a US policy priority. He made the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar held in Taipei by National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations on developments in China and the country’s outlook since the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th National Congress in 2022. Taiwan should closely watch whether US President Donald
‘FRONTLINE’ NATIONS: ‘Vilnius and Taipei are not two separate stories ... whichever of us folds first makes taking the other one cheaper,’ a Lithuanian lawmaker said
Lithuanian lawmaker Dovile Sakaliene over the weekend urged Taiwan to prioritize its defense budget, saying that national security cannot be compromised for other public policies, during a joint conference of Taiwanese associations in Helsinki. She made the comments at this year’s Joint Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations and the European Federation of Taiwanese Associations, which took place from Friday to Sunday. The event, themed “Democratic Resilience and Trusted Democracy,” drew more than 330 participants, including politicians and human rights advocates from Taiwan, Finland, Lithuania, Poland and the UK, to discuss how democratic societies can resist legal,
UNION DETERMINATION: Rejecting an offer for a one-time payout as an attempt to influence opinion, the union said a strike at the memory chip manufacturer is possible
The Micron Taiwan workers’ union yesterday rejected a one-time payout unveiled by US-based Micron Technology Inc last week, saying it wants a long-term mechanism under which employees would share 15 percent of the company’s operating profits. While the union and the company are still in talks over the dispute, the reward package was proposed unilaterally by the employer without reaching an agreement with the union, union head Jerry Lin (林哲瑞) told reporters. Lin said he suspected the company was seeking to influence public opinion with the move. On Friday last week, Micron announced a reward package under which employees in Taiwan would receive
對話 Dialogue 清清：你在看什麼？看得這麼認真！ Qīngqing: Nǐ zài kàn shénme? Kàn de zhème rènzhēn! 華華：我在看一些災害的影片，這兩年颱風好多。 Huáhua: Wǒ zài kàn yìxiē zāihài de yǐngpiàn, zhè liǎng nián táifēng hǎoduō. 清清：對啊！放了不少颱風假呢！每次放颱風假，我朋友就找我去唱歌。 Qīngqing: Duì a! Fàng le bùshǎo táifēngjià ne! Měicì fàng táifēngjià, wǒ péngyou jiù zhǎo wǒ qù chànggē. 華華：這樣是不對的，颱風來就應該好好在家，不要隨便出門，很危險。 Huáhua: Zhèyàng shì búduì de, táifēng lái jiù yīnggāi hǎohǎo zài jiā, búyào suíbiànchūmén, hěn wéixiǎn. 清清：特別是現在這個季節，秋天的颱風最可怕了。 Qīngqing: Tèbié shì xiànzài zhège jìjié, qiūtiān de táifēng zuì kěpà le. 華華：秋颱常常風大雨大，到處都淹水，山區還容易有土石流。 Huáhua: Qiūtái chángcháng fēng dà yǔ dà, dàochù dōu yānshuǐ, shānqū hái róngyì yǒu tǔshíliú. 清清：所以啊！我們都只去唱歌，不敢跑到山上或海邊玩。 Qīngqing: Suǒyǐ a! Wǒmen dōu zhǐ qù chànggē, bùgǎn pǎodào shānshàng huò hǎibiān wán. 華華：你還說！下次颱風來，你就買好食物和水，在家自己唱就好了，注意安全。 Huáhua: Nǐ hái shuō! Xiàcì táifēng lái, nǐ jiù mǎihǎo
US President Donald Trump said he is not worried that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would cancel a highly anticipated visit later this month. “No, I’m not worried about that,” Trump told reporters as he attended the Irish Open in Doonbeg on Sunday. “We have a great relationship. He wants to get along, and we want it. We’re going to get along.” Trump’s comments follow a recent report that China had warned the US that it would scrap Xi’s upcoming visit if the US approved new arms sales to Taiwan, a major point of contention for Beijing. Trump has said
Sept. 21 to Sept. 27 When the Shah of Iran became the Grand Hotel’s (圓山大飯店) first head-of-state guest in 1958, it was hardly the landmark it is known as today. A Chinese-style, two-story structure with just 36 rooms built on the former site of the Taipei Shinto Shrine, the hotel was still referred to as its original name, the Taiwan Hotel (台灣大飯店), in an official newsreel detailing Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s visit. The video lavished praise on the hotel, pointing out its “beautiful architecture and magnificent appearance” and noting that it had just been renovated. After being greeted personally by then-president
COMPLAINTS ABOUND: Long delays, unsuitable accommodation and transport issues have overshadowed the lead-up to the Games, which are to open today
The Asian Games in Japan on Friday faced more accusations of poor organization with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture today, but the build-up has been soured by several issues. That includes a shortage of rooms for the more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a bigger number than the Olympics. Some teams have also criticized the quality of the accommodation, including beds that are too short. To save money there is no athletes’ village,
Tuvaluan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Labour and Trade Paulson Panapa yesterday said that Taiwan’s leadership in healthcare, digital innovation and disaster response warrants a “seat at the table,” and that Tuvalu would continue to speak up for the nation in the international community. Panapa made the remarks during a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei on his first official visit to Taiwan in his current capacity. Taiwan and Tuvalu are united by their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which “give meaning to our cooperation,” Panapa said. Those ties
Although the war between the US and Iran has pushed global oil prices higher, it has also increased demand for direct long-haul flights to Europe as people seek safer routes, China Airlines (CAL) said on Monday. CAL president Kevin Chen (陳漢銘) said that aviation fuel prices have fluctuated significantly since February amid the ongoing US-Iran war, at one point surging to between US$190 and US$200 per barrel. Prices fell to between US$130 and US$140 per barrel before rebounding to US$160-US$170, Chen said. The volatility has prompted the airline to reassess the load factor of each flight and adjust aircraft capacity accordingly, he said. Demand
BACK TO SCHOOL: The centers said that medical visits for enterovirus rose to 10,203 last week, with the epidemic period expected to start this week
Medical visits for flu-like illnesses and enterovirus increased last week, while COVID-19 cases stayed at a high level, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, while seven new cases of acute viral hepatitis C traced to a clinic in New Taipei City were also confirmed. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said there were 136,796 medical visits for flu-like illnesses from Sept. 6 to Saturday last week, a 16.5 percent increase from the previous week. As 12 percent of the cases were emergency room visits, the flu is still defined as in an epidemic period, Lee said. There were
READY FOR TAKEOFF: Taiwan could start training up to 30 drone pilots locally from Palau, the Marshall Islands or Tuvalu late this year or early next year, an official said
The privately funded Global UAV Academy (GUAVA) is to be registered as a juridical person next week and its offices are to be set up before the end of this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. The ministry is assisting in the establishment of GUAVA, which aims to help Taiwan’s diplomatic allies build drone resilience, with the initial phase focusing on pilot training, MOFA said in a policy report submitted to the Legislative Yuan before it starts its next session on Sept. 29. As the ministry’s drone collaboration with like-minded countries needs to go through non-governmental channels, MOFA is
The Hyrox athletics franchise has apologized for allowing an athlete to complete an event in Beijing despite soiling herself midway through, causing an outcry on social media. Posts showed Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk with soiled legs and shoes, continuing to use the mats and equipment at the competition held on Saturday in the Chinese capital. She completed the event without the organizing committee intervening, and went on to win the competition, according to the Hyrox Web site. Users pointed out on social media that other participants had to touch the contaminated mats, handles and running tracks after she had used them, raising concerns
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