President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is paying close attention to the situation on the Korean Peninsula and has instructed the National Security Council (NSC) to be fully prepared for any outcome, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Under Ma’s instruction, NSC Secretary-General Jason Yuan (袁健生) held a meeting yesterday afternoon with top officials including Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) and Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂), in response to the escalating tension between North and South Korea.
The president has closely been watching the situation and the government will be prepared to handle any development, Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) said, adding that Ma called on East Asian nations to jointly maintain peace and prosperity in the area and resolve disputes in a rational manner.
Tension in the Korean Peninsula showed no signs of easing, after North Korea warned of dire repercussions over UN sanctions and US military drills with South Korea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement last night urged North Korea to exert self-restraint and to seek dialogue to resolve the issues about which Pyongyang is concerned.
The ministry has contingency plans for any scenario in the Korean Peninsula, and has established emergency task forces in its Taipei office and in the Taipei Mission in Korea to monitor the situation and adjust its plans, it said.
Taiwanese are advised not to travel to North Korea at present, but the ministry did not plan to raise its travel alert level for South Korea and Japan, as travel alert levels for South Korea and Japan in the US, Japan and Australia have stayed the same, the ministry said.
The ministry maintains its “gray” travel alert for South Korea and Japan — the lowest on the ministry’s four-color scale — which advises caution.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
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