The Presidential Office yesterday condemned North Korea's test-firing of several missiles, calling on countries involved in six-party talks to establish an effective mechanism to push for peaceful negotiations and regional security.
"Pursuing peace is a basic human right, but North Korea ignores peace and boosts its military might for its own national interest," Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said.
"Such behavior is bound to invite abhorrence from other countries. We are calling on the international community to concertedly put pressure on North Korea and ask them to completely abandon this erroneous behavior, which sabotages peace for mankind," Cho said.
Cho made the remarks yesterday after North Korea launched seven missiles on Wednesday.
Cho said that North Korea's test-firing of missiles highlighted the importance of collective action for East Asian security.
"With Taiwan's strategic position in the region and its experience of being a target of China's military intimidation, I hereby urge all countries concerned to establish an effective security mechanism in a bid to lay the groundwork for future negotiations and cooperation, should any problems arise," Cho said.
Cho called on all countries to exercise self-control, maintain good sense and uphold the mainstream values of cooperation and dialogue, which should replace confrontation and conflict.
The Presidential Office fully supports peaceful dialogue, Cho said, and believes that cross-strait disputes must be handled through peaceful means.
"As Taiwan is facing the missile threat posed by China, the Chinese government must not ignore peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and continues to deploy missiles against Taiwan," Cho said.
Cho called on the international community to voice its concern over security in the Taiwan Strait. He also pledged that Taiwan would continue to perform its duties and obligations as a member of the international community.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
PLANE HIT: The Israeli military said it shot down an Iranian Air Force fighter over Tehran, while an Iranian warship sank off Sri Lanka, with no cause known The US and Israel yesterday hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces, while the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel, and across the region. Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts and Iranian state television showed the ruins of building in the center of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted. With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop,
RSS