The army is in the process of establishing three new mecha-nized infantry brigades, which will become the service's major fighting force in the future, defense sources said yesterday.
The first mechanized infantry brigade is already being formed, while the next two are in the planning stage. The first brigade integrated the Tainan-based 298th motorized infantry brigade with the Pingtung-based 395th armored infantry brigade to form a new type of combat force that the nation's army has never seen before.
The 298th brigade will disappear after the integration. The other two motorized infantry brigades, to be located in the center and north of the country, will soon follow suit.
A senior army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the new mechanized infantry brigade features high mobility and concentrated firepower.
"These brigades will be equip-ped with an eight-wheeled armored vehicle currently under development. They are to become truly mobile forces," the official said.
"The reason for integrating a mobilized infantry brigade with an armored infantry brigade is to concentrate personnel and equipment, which are to become increasingly limited in the next few years as a new wave of personnel streamlining efforts get under way," he said.
In a previous personnel stream-lining program, the Chingshih Project, the 333rd infantry division, of which the 298th brigade forms a part, was reduced to a regional command without any forces under its direct control. The Chingshih Project was completed in 1997.
The three brigades of the division, including the 997th, 998th and 999th brigades, were then detached from the division. Only the 998th brigade has survived, in the form of a motorized infantry brigade renamed the 298th brigade.
But over the past seven years, the three motorized infantry brigades have been found unable to live up to the "motorized" part of their name, since their major form of transportation was marching.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his