All Singaporean troops training in Taiwan have been ordered to return home amid concern about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Ministry of National Defense confirmed yesterday.
"The Singaporean troops started returning to their country earlier this month. All military links between the two countries have now been suspended," Vice Defense Minister Lieutenant General Chen Ti-tuan, (陳體端) said.
Chen made the confirmation yesterday at a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee in response to inquiries from lawmakers about news reports on Singapore pulling its troops out of Taiwan.
The news reports were based on claims by two DPP lawmakers that Singaporean troops had left mainly to avoid contracting SARS.
It was the first time since the beginning of military ties between Taiwan and Singapore in the mid-1970s that Singapore withdrew all of its troops training on the island.
The training program -- known as the Starlight Project -- was the core of bilateral military ties. Taiwan's military regularly provides training grounds and assists Singaporean troops with their training exercises.
The bilateral military links covered air, land and sea operations, but had been adjusted in recent years to focus on ground-troop training. In the interim, rumors cropped up to the effect that Singapore was getting ready to terminate military links with Taiwan due to favorable terms offered by China.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday suspended standing and scheduled recall orders for reserves for this and next month until infections from the ailment have been declared contained. The affected recalls include those concerning the Hankuang No. 19 exercise, the largest military drill of the year.
Some legislators had complained that the ministry took too long to make a decision on the suspension.
At yesterday's committee meeting, PFP Legislator Nelson Ku (顧崇廉) -- a former naval commander-in chief -- went into a rage after he could not get a satisfactory response from the ministry on the issue.
Ku asked Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Fei Hung-po (
Fei replied that he has yet to obtain the opinion of the Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Ku said he could not understand why an admiral such as Fei could not make such a decision independently. Hours after the episode at the legislature, the ministry issued a press release announcing the decision expected by Ku and other lawmakers.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS