The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus accused the government yesterday of ignoring national defense after it allegedly halted plans to upgrade the Taiwan-made Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) warplanes.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday that the Cabinet decided to halt a plan to upgrade IDF fighters, or the Hsiang Chan Project, despite President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval of the project.
The report said the Cabinet’s decision was made to avoid undermining warming relations with Beijing.
DPP Legislator Kao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) told a press conference at the legislature yesterday that the DPP caucus condemned the move, adding that defense priorities had changed dramatically since Ma took office in May.
“The government not only is unable to procure F-16C/Ds from the US but has also canceled the upgrade of the IDF fighters,” Kao said.
“It is totally ignoring national defense,” he said.
He said that Ma’s dream of ultimate unification with China has had a sustained impact on military policies.
Kao said that under Ma’s administration, Taiwan would probably surrender to China if it were to launch a military attack.
The Hsiang Chan Project includes plans to enhance the IDF’s firepower, lengthening its range and providing it with the capability to attack Chinese radar control systems, runways, fuel depots and amphibious troops.
Taiwan began to develop the IDF in 1980 when the US was unwilling to provide it with F-16s. Taiwan built 130 IDFs with the help of defense firm General Dynamics, which manufactures the F-16.
In 1992, Taiwan succeeded in ordering 150 F-16A/Bs from the US and 60 Mirage 2000-5s from France.
As plans for the IDFs were more than 20 years old, the Aerospace Industry Development Corp (AIDC) launched the NT$7 billion (US$230 million) Hsiang Chan Project to upgrade the aircraft.
On March 29 last year, AIDC showed the first two upgraded IDFs to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the
RSS