In the wake of terrorist attacks against the US, Vice President Annette Lu (
"China has already posed a threat to Taiwan in many ways, but we tend to either ignore its existence or downplay its significance," Lu said.
PHOTO: SHING TING-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"There are a lot of Chinese spies on the island, but none of us have reported them as such to the relevant authorities. [More ridiculously], these spies are treated as guests of honor here," she said.
Lu issued the warning yesterday as she delivered a speech at an academic conference on civilian-based defense.
The warning was made against the backdrop of a wave of terrorist attacks against the US, which shocked the world with its enormous damage and casualties.
"If a mighty country like the US cannot avoid terrorist attacks of such scale, can Taiwan be immune to similar attacks?" Lu asked. "We know we always have an enemy. It is the leadership in Beijing."
"Facing threats from China, we must develop a common understanding among our people. The people must be made to understand that the country now has many vulnerabilities stemming from the great freedom we now enjoy," Lu said.
"The people must have a psychological defense against the enemy. What we want is not just a defensive military. We are seeking a preventive defense."
Administrative deputy defense minister Vice Admiral Kao Yang (
Kao declined to comment on the military's ability to handle small scale terrorist attacks, saying only that the military has preparations for such attacks.
Lin Chi-lang (林吉郎), a serviceman-turned academic who now teaches at Nan Hua University, presented a paper at the conference and expressed doubts about the military's ability to cope with such contingencies.
Citing the rescue efforts conducted by the military in the wake of the catastrophic 921 earthquake, Lin said the military has a long way to go before it is competent to deal with such disasters and equivalent situations.
"Because of the lack of disaster-prevention and emergency-assistance training, the armed forces participating in the rescue efforts did not function well. Most of these soldiers were wasted on cleaning the debris of houses that collapsed in the earthquake," Lin said.
"As the earthquake struck the central parts of the island, many of the local townships lost communication links with the outside. Military units in those townships did not make good use of their communications equipment to report the conditions in the affected areas to the outside. This caused the central government to be unable to know the conditions in those areas until several days after the earthquake," he said.
Lin called on the military to add courses (on how to conduct rescue efforts in a disaster) to its training schedule.
Lin also suggested that the military consider training and mobilizing reserve troops for disaster-related rescue missions.
"The military's current recalls of reserve troops are meaningless since they are held only for the purpose of gathering the reservists together. The mobilization of reserve forces should not be a formality," Lin said.
"In the US, the training of the National Guard covers emergency rescue missions supporting the regular troops. The military should seriously consider training and mobilizing reserve troops for similar missions in the future."
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS