The Executive Yuan yesterday expressed appreciation for the comments made by Richard Lawless, a deputy undersecretary at the US Defense Department, saying the US has always been the nation's staunchest ally.
"We're grateful that the US government has been very supportive of us in the past and we believe it will continue to support us in the future," Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) told a press conference following the weekly closed-door Cabinet meeting yesterday afternoon.
In an interview with a Taiwan-ese TV network on Tuesday, Lawless said that if the Legislative Yuan fails to approve the controversial NT$610.8 (US$18 billion) arms procurement budget, Taiwan's foreign friends would see it as a burden rather than a comrade.
Chen yesterday called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP), and especially these parties' leaders, to seriously ponder Lawless' remarks and request their legislative caucuses to support the arms purchase budget.
"He is right," Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (
Continuing his series of visits to the opposition parties to seek support for the arms procurement budget, Lee yesterday met with the PFP at the Legislative Yuan, where he launched an appeal that national security should be placed above the interests of political parties.
In response to a question about whether the arms purchase plan has come under heavy pressure from the US government, Lee said: "Our relationship and communication with the US has always been good. They understand the situation in Taiwan well."
Veterans Affairs Commission Chairman Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) yesterday expressed a different view, saying that it was probably due to a lack of understanding that the US thinks the Taiwanese people's will to oppose their enemies was not strong enough.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party has started distributing publicity material to promote the government's arms deal by means of a pamphlet published in magazines and newspapers.
The 20-page pamphlet entitled Peace only comes with strong defensive power, aims to convince the public that only when Taiwan has strengthened its defenses will true peace exist in the Taiwan Strait.
additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS