■ Military
Explosion report issued
The Minister of National Defense (MND) Thursday night issued its investigation report about the military depot explosion on Nov. 6, saying that some senior military officials have been punished for neglecting their duties. The incident resulted in the death of three soldiers: Second Lieutenant Hung Tuan-lung (洪端隆), Sergeant Huang Chien-che (黃建哲) and Private First Class Yang Wu-chang (楊武璋), who were assigned to move mortar shells. The report directly cited human negligence as the cause of the incident, therefore, the Logistics Command has decided to refer the case to the military prosecutors' office. "The chief of the military depot in Kaohsiung County's Chishan Township, Yu Jung-so (余榮壽), will be investigated under the military judicial system," the MND spokesman's office said. The office also said that the MND has issued a general order to temporarily suspend the disposal of mortar shells and will not resume such operations until the MND can absolutely ensure the safety of all soldiers.
■ Diplomacy
Vanuatu discusses relations
Vanuatu's Cabinet met yesterday to discuss the controversy over whether their country had established diplomatic relations with Taiwan, despite ties with China. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman in Taipei told reporters the government still believed it had diplomatic relations with Vanuatu after signing a Nov. 3 deal that sealed formal ties. Officials in Vanuatu have delivered conflicting statements, with the foreign minister denying ties with Taiwan and the prime minister acknowledg-ing formal relations with Taiwan while reaffirming ties with China. Details of yesterday's Cabinet meeting weren't immediately available. Vanuatu media reports said Prime Minister Serge Vohor would address the issue on television today.
■ Politics
`Taiwan Republic' promoted
A group of 66 Democratic Progressive Party legislative candidates and its ally the Taiwan Solidarity Union have joined a "legislative united front" to promote a new constitution and a new name for the country, organizers said yesterday. Peter Wang (王獻極), leader of the pro-independence Alliance to Campaign for the Rectification of the Name of Taiwan, which initiated the drive, said the alliance will send a "Taiwan Republic" campaign mission to tour the nation starting next week to drum up support for the politicians. Former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) will also attend a rally promoting the foundation of the "Taiwan Republic," which is set for Nov. 28 in Banciao, Taipei County, Wang said. Also yesterday, the alliance released a "theme lamp" and the theme song "Beautiful Formosa" for yet another mass rally planned for the cause Feb. 28, 2005. The lighting-up rally is expected to attract 1 million people around Taiwan, Wang said.
■ Transportation
Highway expansion okayed
A project to widen the Southern Cross-island Highway has passed a feasibility assessment, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) said in Taitung County yesterday. Making the announcement during a meeting with Taitung County Commissioner Hsu Ching-yuan (徐慶元), Lin said the travel time from Taitung to Kaohsiung is expected to be cut by one hour after the NT$16.8 billion (US$509.09 million) project is completed in 2012. The project is set to start in 2006 after it undergoes an environmental impact assessment next year, Lin said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
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