■ Defense
Arms exchanges approved
The US House of Representatives on Friday authorized President George W. Bush to sell an Anchorage-class dock landing craft to Taiwan and step up exchanges between the US military and Taiwan's armed forces. In its National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2005, the House of Representatives also requires the secretary of defense to undertake an exchange program of senior military officers and civilian officials of the Department of Defense with Taiwan designed to improve the nation's defenses against China. These exchanges will focus on threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support, intelligence collection and analysis, operational tactics, techniques, and procedures which relate to defending Taiwan against submarine and missile attacks.
■ Diplomacy
Yu seeking trade pacts
Premier Yu Shyi-kun said on Friday that the government is seeking to sign free trade agreements with the US, Japan and other countries. At a meeting with leaders of the country's six major business groups, Yu said that the free trade agreement signed between Taiwan and Panama last year has produced fruitful results. It is more important to sign similar accords with larger countries in terms of their economic scale, such as the US and Japan, he added. In addition to Beijing's obstruction, Yu said, various issues must be resolved before Taiwan can sign a free trade agreement with the US, including the protection of intellectual property rights, opening of telecommunications market, rice imports and pharmaceutical products. Yu assured the business leaders that his Cabinet would do its utmost to sign free trade accords with more countries and develop Taiwan into an international operations, logistics and capital-raising center.
■ Diplomacy
Fishery ties promised
The Marshall Islands' President Kessai Note said yesterday that he will continue to work to strengthen fishery cooperation between his country and Taiwan. Note and his wife, who paid a visit to Ching Fu Shipbuilding in Kaohsiung City's Cijin district, said they were very impressed with the deep-sea fishing ship Fongsian 668, which was recently built by Ching Fu Shipbuilding, the largest private shipbuilding company in Taiwan. The Marshall Islands have abundant fishery resources, and Taiwanese tuna boats have frequently anchored at its capital, Majuro, for supplies and maintenance since the signing of a fishery cooperation agreement in 1998. Note reiterated that he values the fishery cooperation between his country and Taiwan.
■ Diplomacy
Tuvalu PM visits Kaohsiung
Tuvalu Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga visited Kaohsiung Friday. Sopoanga, who attended President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration ceremony on Thursday, was warmly greeted by Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and leaders of the shipbuilding industry and the fishery sector. In addition to attending a luncheon party hosted by Hsieh and Wang Shun-lung (王順隆), president of the Taiwan Deep-Sea Tuna Boatowners and Exporters Association, Sopoanga toured shipbuilding and fish-processing companies. Tuvalu is one of the most important bases for Taiwan's fishing vessels in the South Pacific, with 33 fishing boats that are registered with the Taiwan Deep-Sea Tuna Boatowners and Exporters Association operating in its waters.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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