ARMED FORCES
Woman promoted to general
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has approved the promotion of 26 senior military officers, including a woman who would become one of only three serving female generals, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. Eight officers are to be promoted to two-star general, while 18 would be moved up to one-star general, the ministry said in a statement. The head of the Matsu Defense Command’s political warfare section, Ku Li-tu (辜麗都), is to be promoted to one-star general, becoming the nation’s third serving female general and the first woman to gain that rank since Tsai assumed office in May 2016. The other two women are Major General Chen Yu-lin (陳育琳) of the Sixth Army Corps and Major General Chang Te-lan (張德蘭) of the National Security Bureau.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Wu unaware of transfer
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday said he had not been informed that he would be transferred back to his former post as head of the National Security Council, as was reported by the Chinese-language China Times earlier in the day. The Presidential Office also released a similar statement, saying that it had no information about a transfer. However, Wu confirmed that his top aide, Vincent Chao (趙怡翔), would soon be posted to Washington, although not as deputy representative to the US, as the China Times had reported, but as secretary. Before Wu was appointed foreign minister on Feb. 26, he had since President Tsai Ing-wen’s election as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party in 2014 been her adviser on national security matters.
SOCIETY
Floral expo free for locals
From Tuesday next week, entry to the Taichung World Flora Exposition is to be free for Taichung residents and children aged 12 or under, whether from Taiwan or overseas. Allowing residents to visit the nearly six-month-long floral extravaganza for free was part of the political platform of Taichung mayor-elect Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) during her campaign. After her election victory on Nov. 24, Lu expanded the offer to include all children aged 12 or under. The expo, organized by the Taichung City Government, opened on Nov. 3 and is to close on April 24. It has exhibitions in Houli (后里), Fongyuan (豐原) and Waipu (外埔) districts. Visits to the Fengyuan park are free, but entry to the Houli and Waipu parks ranges from NT$150 to NT$350. Lu is to be sworn in as Taichung mayor today.
LABOR
Aid Indonesian workers: MOL
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) yesterday urged employers to take the initiative in helping migrant workers who are from areas in Indonesia that were hit by a tsunami on Saturday. Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) made the appeal in a statement in which she urged employers to assist Indonesian employees who needed to fly home to check on their families in the aftermath of the disaster. Apart from Hsu’s statement, the ministry also expressed Taiwan’s deep condolences for the victims of the natural disaster and pledged its full support in helping workers whose families back home were affected by the tsunami. Through the ministry’s 1955 hotline, workers can get information on the casualties and damage caused by the tsunami, and on how to apply for leave from work so that they can return home to be with their families, the statement said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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