A US report on China's military power provoked a new war of words between the nation's ruling and opposition parties yesterday, with the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) legislative caucus accusing the major opposition parties of "not telling friend from foe" by blocking the special arms budget at the legislature.
Lai Ching-te (
Lai called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), to realize who Taiwan's real enemy is, and not to drive Taiwan toward an abyss.
Quoting the annual Pentagon report -- which warns that China's modernizing military could pose a threat to the region -- Lai said the US has taken actions to counter China's growing military might, such as urging the EU not to lift the arms embargo against China, listing the Taiwan Strait as part of the "common strategic objective" in its defense pact with Japan, and re-launching nuclear technology cooperation with India.
His KMT counterpart, Chen Chieh (
What is important for cross-strait relations is for the leadership on both sides to work for peace, to cooperate in developing their economies and to avoid an arms race, Chen said.
"Only in this way can a win-win situation be created for the people on both sides of the Strait," he added.
He called on the ruling party and the government not to shift the responsibility to others for failing to pass the arms purchase bill.
"The KMT is not against buying new weapons. As long as the DPP government is willing to use the regular annual budget for that purpose, and not to leave the debt to our children and grandchildren, then we can discuss it," he said, adding that the DPP is to blame for the legislative deadlock, and not anyone else.
Chen also blamed the nation's shrinking defense budget on the DPP government.
Since the government gained power in 2000, Taiwan's economy has not done well and government revenue has been shrinking, forcing it to lower the defense budget, he said.
Lin Yu-fang (林郁芳), a PFP lawmaker and a convener of the legislature's defense committee, said the US report made it clear that China is deploying missiles across the Strait in order to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence.
By publishing that point of view, the US government is "speaking for China," he said, implying the two giants have a common interest in stopping Taiwan from declaring formal independence.
"China deploying those missiles against Taiwan does not mean it will fire them at Taiwan," Lin said.
However, he noted that the missiles are China's best deterrent.
If Taiwan does proclaim independence, they could create a "psychological impact" more effective than anything else, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense is studying the Pentagon report, according to military spokesman Liu Chih-jian (
Commenting on the report, Liu said that the major challenges to Taiwan's deterrence capabilities are: China's military build-up tipping the balance against Taiwan; Taiwan's declining military budget; and the special arms procurement bill remaining blocked in the opposition-dominated legislature.
The report contends that China's military build-up is growing at a pace that is tipping the military balance against Taiwan, and that Taiwan has failed to keep pace.
On the other side of the Strait, China's foreign minister dismissed the report, and said his nation's rise would be peaceful.
"China, remember, will continue to pursue a path of peaceful development," Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
"China not only poses no threat to anyone, we also are willing to establish friendship and all kinds of win-win cooperation with other countries to push forward cooperative development," Li said in response to a question about the Pentagon report.
Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (
"The report overlooks facts, endeavors to spread the `China threat theory,' rudely interferes with China's internal affairs and foments discord between China and other countries," the statement said.
Taipei on Thursday held urban resilience air raid drills, with residents in one of the exercises’ three “key verification zones” reporting little to no difference compared with previous years, despite government pledges of stricter enforcement. Formerly known as the Wanan exercise, the air raid drills, which concluded yesterday, are now part of the “Urban Resilience Exercise,” which also incorporates the Minan disaster prevention and rescue exercise. In Taipei, the designated key verification zones — where the government said more stringent measures would be enforced — were Songshan (松山), Zhongshan (中山) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts. Air raid sirens sounded at 1:30pm, signaling the
The number of people who reported a same-sex spouse on their income tax increased 1.5-fold from 2020 to 2023, while the overall proportion of taxpayers reporting a spouse decreased by 4.4 percent from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday. The number of people reporting a spouse on their income tax trended upward from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Statistics said. However, the number decreased in 2020 and 2021, likely due to a drop in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic and the income of some households falling below the taxable threshold, it said. The number of spousal tax filings rebounded
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
RSS