The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday vowed to investigate if its spokesperson’s Facebook account had been hacked, after netizens objected to remarks posted on Facebook after a public uproar over prosecutors’ decision not to press charges against 15 military officers and civilians over a tour of a military base where Apache helicopters are based.
Several statements that appeared yesterday on ministry spokesman Major General David Lo’s (羅紹和) official Facebook page brusquely brushed off calls by netizens for military bases to be opened to the public to view the Apaches and other high-tech equipment.
Lo told a news conference at the ministry that he had not written the comments and that an internal investigation would be launched to determine if the Facebook account had been hacked.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
The Facebook fuss was the latest development in the controversy sparked by an unauthorized tour of a Taoyuan military base given by 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) to several civilians, including TV celebrity Janet Lee (李蒨蓉).
Following the prosecutors’ decision last week not to press charges over the tour, several online petitions were launched calling for public access to the base in Longtan District (龍潭), where the Apache squadron is stationed.
More than 270,000 people signed the petitions, while several borough wardens from cities nationwide have organized tours to local military bases.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Lo’s Facebook page, which usually features information about events and activities by the armed forces, was flooded by messages protesting the prosecutors’ decision and what some saw as the ministry’s efforts to sweep the controversy under the carpet.
In response to these postings, someone with the title “official MND spokesperson” wrote: “In this time where populism rules, it is meaningless to defend the armed forces. Who do they think they are?”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the ministry has handled the “Apache helicopter tour” scandal badly and underestimated the public’s anger over privileges and tours granted to celebrities and the families and friends of military personnel while bases remain off-limits to the general public.
The ministry also took steps yesterday to temper some of that anger by announcing that AH-64E Apache helicopters would be put on display at base open days this fall.
They are scheduled to appear at the Tsoying Naval Base in Kaohsiung on Oct. 24 and at Hsinchu Air Base on Nov. 21, Lo said.
He said that public agencies, schools and other registered groups can apply in advance to visit bases, and that permission would be given if such visits were not disruptive of training, daily routine or the rights and interests of military personnel.
Chinese citizens, Hong Kongers and Macau residents would not be permitted to visit Taiwan’s military bases, he said.
Visitors cannot engage in political campaign activities while on tours or bring campaign vests, flags or banners onto bases, Lo said.
Additional reporting by CNA
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS