President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday paid a visit to troops based in Alishan, Chiayi County, and Nantou County yesterday morning ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
Ma said that many members of the armed forces would not be able to return home for the New Year celebrations, as they will have to remain on duty in the remote parts of the country.
“Taiwan is lucky to have you,” Ma said, adding that their spirit and loyalty have been and always will be respected by the Taiwanese.
“Although more than a third of you will not be able to go home for one of the most important celebrations in Chinese culture, I have no doubt that your loved ones will be proud of you,” Ma said.
After the visit, Ma returned to Taipei for lunch at the Ministry of National Defense, where he encouraged military personnel to defend the country by any means necessary.
“When it comes to national defense, as long as it works, we should do it,” Ma said.
He said that the defense of the nation would always be the military’s main goal, but that it should not provoke the enemy.
Ma said that his aim was to maintain the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and this policy had been welcomed by many foreign governments over the past eight months. The military should do whatever it takes to assure the peace between Taiwan and China, he said.
“No matter whether it’s done the hard way or the easy way,” Ma said.
The president said he would like to remind the military that the purpose of national defense was to stop wars, not start them.
“Taiwan’s remarkable economic growth and democracy rely on solid national defense,” Ma said. “We need to make sure that this defense continues, so we can carry on with our contribution to our country."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS