■ Tourism
Train service resumes
The Alishan train service, which has been suspended since the March 1 derailment that left 17 people dead and another 170 injured, will resume today, Council of Agriculture Vice Chairman Tai Chen-yao (戴振耀) announced yesterday. Following a series of examinations and repairs to the damaged section of the narrow-gauge railway, a test run was conducted yesterday. The train left Chiayi Station for Alishan yesterday morning without any trouble and returned from Alishan safely later in the day. A mechanic has been charged with neglecting to open an air valve connecting the braking system of the carriages, resulting in brake failure of the four-carriage train that lead to the accident. Two drivers and the chief attendant of the train also face the same charge.
■ Defense
Minister to warn of buildup
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conspic-uously intensified its combat preparedness in coastal regions over the past year, according to a report to be delivered by Minister of Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) to the Legislative Yuan today. During the past year, the report says, the PLA's frogmen troops deployed in coastal areas have been upgraded into amphibious forces capable of carrying out landing, loading and unloading missions while equipped with the gear needed to take and hold a beach. At the invitation of the Legislature's National Defense Committee, Tang will present the report analyzing the latest situation regarding the PLA and its threat to the country. According to the report, the PLA naval exercises have been focused on joint-forces combat operations, missile attacks and aggressive drills, aimed mainly at intensifying the navy's landing capabilities.
■ Transportation
Ministry undecided on flights
The Ministry of Transport-ation and Communications (MOTC) has not proposed that future charter flights across the Taiwan Strait be exempted from having to land en route at a third place, a senior ministry official said yesterday. "This proposal was broached by the airlines," Vice Minister Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said, adding that the MOTC has not yet decided whether to include the idea in the ministry's evaluation report on the indirect cross-strait charter flights that ran during the Lunar New Year holiday. Tsai was responding to a newspaper report that claimed the ministry has proposed allowing indirect cross-strait charter flights to make a detour that would avoid the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait without having to land in a third place.
■ Defense
Special task force set up
The Ministry of National Defense has set up a special task force to monitor the situations in Iraq and North Korea, according to a ministry report released yesterday. The report, to be presented to the Legislative Yuan's National Defense Committee today, says the ministry has also stepped up contacts with foreign military authorities and has expanded its intelligence sources in the face of a looming US-led war in Iraq. In addition, the Yunghsing task force is keeping in close touch with the nation's overseas offices and foreign military representatives stationed in Taipei to exchange early-warning intelligence. To cope with terrorists, the report says, the military has forged a combined services command mechanism to tackle any emergencies.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
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