Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Lee said that winning approval of the NT$610 billion (US$18.2 billion) arms deal with the US may be the most difficult mission in his career, and he stressed that the Ministry of National Defense will continue to communicate with those who oppose the deal.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The ministry has never experienced such an agony over any arms deal," Lee said in response to a lawmaker's question at the Legislative Yuan.
During a heated question-and- answer session at the legislature yesterday, Lee and Premier Yu Shyi-kun were repeatedly challenged by opposition legislators about arms budget.
More than 100 retired generals have signed a petition opposing the arms package, warning it will heighten cross-strait tensions and force an arms race.
Organizers of an anti-arms purchase rally scheduled for today have accused defense officials of pressuring the retired generals to keep quiet.
Lee denied the charge, saying the ministry only explained its policy to the ex-generals.
"I don't agree with the anti-arms deal protest, and the ministry has assigned senior military officials to explain the government's policy to those retired generals who signed a petition," Lee said.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chin Huei-chu (秦慧珠), dressed in a US Air Force uniform, asked whether Lee agreed with Yu's criticizing the retired generals for having national identity issues.
"I would rather believe that they all love Taiwan and Premier Yu was expected to say something to encourage the ministry," Lee said.
"I can understand their idea of wanting to avoid a vicious arms race between two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but the basis for their appeal -- that China retract its military invasion threat -- doesn't exist," Lee said.
Lee told the lawmakers that he was opposed to the idea of a referendum on the arms deal.
Chin accused the defense ministry of having an "ostrich mind-set" about the arms deal -- hiding its head in the mud and pretending nothing was wrong -- because it was afraid of communicating with the people.
She urged Lee to assign representatives to debate the arms budget with those opposed to the deal.
"We will do our best to defend the policy but we will not join any public debate," Lee said angrily.
"You call me an ostrich ... actually the entire military should act as an ostrich ... the military has done and talked too much already," he said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Liao Ben-yan (廖本煙) asked Lee to comment on the generals who signed the petition opposing the arms deal.
Lee said the ministry was confident of persuading the generals to support the government's policy.
"If they remain opposed to the arms procurement budgets or attend the protest, then it must because they have non-military professional concerns," Lee said.
In other developments, the Democratic Advancement Alliance (DAA) and the Anti-Arms Purchasing Alliance -- the organizers of today's protest -- held a press conference yesterday to urge the public to attend the rally.
Anti-Arms Purchasing Alliance convener Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) said the nation's four major religions have promised to send representatives to the protest and rally.
Pastor Chow Lien-hwa (周聯華), who attended the press conference, said that he hoped Taiwan would not enter an arms race. He said he was willing to pray for the nation during the rally.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
RSS