The military yesterday confirmed media reports that multiple weather balloons used by the Chinese military passed over the country shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday, but said the balloons posed no security threat and were being used for meteorological observations.
“The air force has full understanding of the [balloons’] movements. It is believed they were being be used for meteorological observations,” Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said.
Shih’s comments came after Chinese-language United Daily News on Saturday reported that an unspecified number of weather balloons in four groups were released from China’s Fujian Province by a long-range rocket unit of an artillery brigade from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) 72nd Group Army.
Photo: Aaron Tu, Taipei Times
The balloons were detected by air force radar at altitudes from 2,743m to 3,048m above Keelung, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday period, the report said.
The weather balloons raised concerns amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and following President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) request for the armed forces to remain on high alert, it said.
Even if the balloons were being used for military purposes, they were likely analyzing atmospheric density for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command and pose no immediate security threat, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the MND yesterday posted a video on Facebook to show that the armed forces have increased patrols and strengthened combat preparedness to deter China from attacking Taiwan.
“The military has continued to step up surveillance as it remains alert and closely observes military activities across the Taiwan Strait. We are determined and capable of defending the country,” the ministry said in the video.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
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