Objects detected floating across the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday and over Changhua County might have been advertising balloons from China, police said yesterday.
"Although the objects appear to be Chinese advertising balloons -- based on the simplified characters `Baiyue Plaza' (
Following an initial investigation, Changhua County police said the balloons, which floated across the center line of the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday and were tracked by military radar, might be commercial balloons advertising stores along China's coastal regions.
PHOTO: CHANG JUI-CHEN, LIBERTY TIMES
Police authorities discovered 16 of the balloons bearing the name of a shopping mall in simplified Chinese characters yesterday morning near a private residence in Changhua County.
Although no scientific equipment was found on any of the balloons, police did not rule out the possibility that they might have been used by Chinese authorities to test Taiwan's radar capabilities. They added that they will cooperate with the military to fully investigate the incident.
An official at the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday that "the floating balloons detected by our military radar on Wednesday, no matter what their purposes were, have seriously impaired the national and international security of the Taiwan region."
The official said there was no connection between the balloons and the upcoming presidential election in March.
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