A university student has gained the spotlight for an interactive map he designed detailing all of China’s military bases and installations throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Soochow University music student Joseph Wen (溫約瑟), who calls himself an amateur military enthusiast, said he created the map to “help people better understand the cross-strait situation.”
Wen originally posted the map online on June 14 last year, but it gained greater attention after he mentioned it during an appearance on a China Television talk show.
Photo: Screen grab from Web site
On the show, Wen said he had gathered information on the locations from publicly available Web sites, as well as academic papers from military academies in Taiwan and other countries.
For example, Wen said he learned about one base’s location after a user on Baidu posted about a reservoir next to a military camp.
Wen said he used maps to cross-reference and pinpoint the base’s location.
“Sometimes I simply pore over maps with the naked eye, but this can lead to mistakes,” he said, adding that he once mistook a prison for a military facility.
“Intelligence agencies have more accurate information, so this is just for public use,” he said.
Wen on Saturday said that following his appearance on the TV talk show, he received threatening Twitter messages about his map.
However, Wen added that he was not frightened by the messages, but would report the Internet users to the police if necessary.
Despite his enthusiasm for military affairs, Wen said he has no family members in the military.
His interest in the military developed in junior-high school through conversations with friends, he said.
After creating the map, Wen learned that what he has been doing is known as open-source intelligence analysis.
Wen said he plans to continue updating the map, but has no plans for a career in the military or in intelligence.
“Music is a relatively pure interest that is not shrouded in conflict, with the exception of some aspects of music history,” he said, adding that he prefers the simple pleasures of studying music.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS