DEFENSE
Cruise missiles in production
Taiwan has confirmed for the first time that it is mass--producing cruise missiles, despite growing ties with China. “Mass production of indigenous weapons like the ones under the codenames of ‘Chichun’ and ‘Chuifeng’ is going very smooth,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang (趙世璋) told the legislature on Wednesday. “The problems with key parts and components that had previously stalled manufacturing have been tackled,” he said. The Chichun project refers to the Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missile, Taiwan’s answer to the US-made Tomahawk. Chuifeng is a project developing the nation’s long--anticipated supersonic anti-ship missile. The missiles could be launched from land or sea and would be capable of striking targets in southeast China, as well as cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, local media said.
IMMIGRATION
NIA cracks counterfeit ring
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday it has cracked a counterfeit ring that was producing ID cards for illegal foreign workers in Taiwan. The ring is probably the country’s largest fake ID syndicate targeting runaway foreign workers as its clientele, the agency said. In a joint operation launched by the agency and police early yesterday, 15 suspects were arrested at various locations in Taipei city and county, Hsinchu County and Miaoli County. Computers, printers and thousands of fake Alien Resident Certificates, work permits and national health insurance cards were seized. The lead suspect, identified by his surnamed Hsiao (蕭), told police that the forged documents were intended for sale to labor brokers, insurance agents, foreign workers and contractors of major construction projects where foreign labor might be needed.
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
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