The government should build more contingency runways to be used in the event of a Chinese attack on air force bases, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said on Saturday.
The annual Han Kuang military exercises, which ended on Friday, included an aircraft takeoff and landing exercise on a public road to test the military’s ability to adapt if air force runways are destroyed.
However, the exercises highlighted the lack of such contingency runways on the east coast of Taiwan proper, he said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
“On the west coast there are lots of highways that are suitable for the purpose, but on the east coast there are only the bases and public airports in Hualien and Taitung counties,” he said.
With Chinese military aggression toward Taiwan on the rise over the past few years, members of the military and the public have been discussing the possibility of building more contingency runways on the east coast, he said.
Contingency runways on the west coast are all within reach of Chinese missiles, a miltiary official said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Therefore, additional runways along the east coast in locations that are obstructed by mountains could prove invaluable in the event of an attack, they said.
The government could consider building a runway in a place like Taitung County’s Luye Township (鹿野), where there is a straight section of land for about 14.5km, they said, adding that military aircraft need only about 2km of runway to take off, so it would be more than enough space.
Chang Yan-ting (張延廷), a retired air marshal and adjunct professor at National Defense University, echoed concerns about the lack of contingency runways on the east coast, saying the area is strategically important and should be better protected.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that more runways on the east coast would help mitigate some of the risk of a missile attack from China, and help bolster the nation’s defenses.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique