While urging the legislature to pass the arms procurement budget in a timely fashion, pro-Taiwan independence advocates yesterday also gave a note of appreciation to the pan-blues, affirming their efforts to lower the total amount of the arms purchase.
"I must give the pan-blue camp some credit instead of criticism," said Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂), Taiwan Hand-in-Hand Alliance leader.
Ng made the remark at a press conference held to urge the legislature to approve the long-pending NT$6.3 billion (US$191 million) arms procurement proposal for 12 P-3C surveillance aircraft, eight diesel submarines and 384 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC) 3 missile batteries.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Ng went on to say that when it comes to national defense, everybody should temporarily abandon his or her political orientation because "national defense is everybody's responsibility."
The only priority is to get things done, he said, adding that to do that, everybody should practice mutual respect.
"It is like courting a girl. You need to do something if you want her to be your girl. You cannot just continue to complain about her hair, her dress and such, or else she will just walk away and you will be left alone," Ng said.
Cheng Ching-jen (
"What they do now is simply ignore it. But, they should investigate why it is so expensive or simply work out a solution through discussions instead of cursing for nothing and talking nonsense on TV every day," Cheng said.
"They are making no progress and this issue is not going any further, which concerns us a lot," he said.
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
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.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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