The air force is seeking a NT$5.7 billion (US$197.8 million) increase in military equipment maintenance and repair funds for the next fiscal year compared with this year, which was prompted by the number of flights in response to Chinese incursions into the nation’s air defense identification zones (ADIZs).
While two recent incidents — an F-5E jet crash on Oct. 29 and a F-16 jet crash on Tuesday — were not directly linked to the increased Chinese incursions over the past year, air force officials yesterday told lawmakers that Chinese belligerence has increased the mental pressure on pilots and directly contributed to the rise in maintenance overhead.
During a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee to review the Ministry of National Defense’s budget, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that air force maintenance costs have gone over budget every year since 2017, and in 2018, they exceeded funding ceiling by 19.9 percent.
As of yesterday, 99.7 percent of the current fiscal year’s maintenance funding has been used, so he asked if the additional NT$5.7 billion allocated next year would be enough.
Air Force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) said the maintenance roster is planned two years in advance and unexpected incidents — such as an increase in Chinese incursions — tend to drive up expenditure, and accounted for the increase in funding requested for the next fiscal year.
The air force would investigate ways to improve the situation, but in the meantime, a portion of the requested funds would go toward implementing structural changes for planes and to purchase spare parts, he said.
This would allow the air force to be more precise when determining the maximum service life of aircraft and help prevent further accidents, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) asked why next year’s maintenance budget for equipment under military units totaled NT$27 billion, while that for the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp-built AT-3 would drop by 40 percent from this year’s budget.
The committee decided to freeze NT$100 million of the air force’s budget request, which would be released by legislative approval upon requests from the air force.
It said such requests should be accompanied by a report detailing the spending.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
RSS