The live-fire portion of the annual Han Kuang exercises is to continue as scheduled in July, but possibly on a smaller scale due to the domestic COVID-19 outbreak, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday.
Asked at the meeting whether the exercises would be postponed as the number of domestic COVID-19 infections continues to rise, Chiu responded that the live-fire exercises would not be suspended, but would likely be downsized, with the number of military personnel participating in the drills to be reduced.
The 38th Han Kuang military exercises include simulated tabletop war games and live-fire drills. The tabletop exercise concluded on Friday last week, while the live-fire component is scheduled for July 25 to 29.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The tabletop exercise simulated the military’s tactics against possible Chinese invasion scenarios drawn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The live-fire component is to be based on the outcome of the tabletop simulation.
Citing a report by Reuters, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) told the meeting that Washington plans to provide Ukraine with ground-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles to bolster its war effort, and asked whether those arms transfers could delay the delivery of such weapons to Taiwan, which has placed a NT$86.6 billion (US$2.94 billion) order for 400 of the missiles.
Chiu said that the ministry would urge Washington to ship the missiles to Taiwan according to the schedule and quantity stipulated in the contract.
“The ministry does not relent in matters concerning the lawful and contractual interests of our nation, which is not subject to change even by contingency,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chiu and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Kuei-min (李貴敏) had a table-slamming argument over allegations that military service members were being used as cheap labor in COVID-19 pandemic-related tasks.
After being asked a series of questions about the expenses associated with various types of pandemic work, Chiu replied that he is “not well informed about money or payment rates.”
“If you are not informed, maybe you should listen,” Lee said, before the two exchanged increasingly heated words.
“You are ridiculous,” Lee said.
“No, you are ridiculous,” Chiu responded.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who chaired the meeting, rose from his seat multiple times before order was restored.
The hearing resumed after the two apologized to Lo for disrupting legislative business.
The exchange came three weeks after Chiu clashed with DPP Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) regarding the army’s treatment of reservists who were infected with COVID-19 when taking their refresher training.
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
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
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
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS