POLITICS
No unification date: official
Beijing has no timetable for unification with Taiwan, Jing Quan (井泉), the No. 3 official at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said on Wednesday. “We don’t want to use force” against Taiwan, but Beijing needs the capability to deter Taipei from declaring independence,” Jing said in a speech at the Institute for China-America Studies. “Some people are talking about five years, 10 years, 2035, 2049 — I don’t think so,” he added. “We want to get united as soon as possible, but we don’t have a timeline.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month said that Beijing was trying to “speed up” its seizure of Taiwan. US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday earlier last month warned that China could attack before 2024.
ELECTIONS
Chiayi polls on Dec. 18
The Chiayi mayoral race is to be held on Dec. 18, the Central Election Commission said yesterday, after the election was postponed following the death on Wednesday of independent candidate Huang Shao-tsung (黃紹聰). The Chiayi Election Committee said the new mayor is still expected to assume office on Dec. 25. The committee is to announce today a timetable for candidates to reregister and draw new numbers. According to Article 30 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), an election must be halted if a registered candidate passes away between the deadline for registration and the day before voting.
MILITARY
Army holds defense drills
The army’s Special Forces yesterday deployed rotary-wing aircraft for the first time during drills designed to simulate the ferrying of troops into defensive positions in Taipei’s Guandu (關渡) area. Flown in two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and escorted by an AH-64E Apache Guardian, the Special Forces units traveled along the Tamsui River (淡水河) before landing at the Guandu Area Command compound. Given the river’s proximity to the Presidential Office Building, simulating the destruction of the Guandu Bridge — a key crossing — has been a routine part of army exercises, officials said. Past drills had involved infantry marching into the Guandu Area Command, the army said, adding that yesterday’s exercises aimed to simulate the rapid reinforcement of defensive positions in and around Taipei.
CRIME
Police free 26 captives
New Taipei City police on Wednesday said they had arrested eight people over the illegal imprisonment and torture of 26 people freed during a raid in Tamsui District (淡水). The Tamsui Precinct said in a statement that armed police on Tuesday raided the suspects’ hideout following a tip from a man claiming to be the father of one of the captives. Police found 26 men and women aged 23 to 58 confined in a 16.5m2 apartment room. All of the captives were handcuffed and shackled, and had scratches, bruises and cigarette burns on their bodies, they said. The suspects had lured the captives to the apartment on the pretense of interviewing for jobs with monthly salaries of NT$50,000 to NT$200,000. During the fake job interviews, the suspects demanded the jobseekers hand over their bank passbooks and identification documents, as well as apply for an online bank account for use in money laundering. The captives were only given one meal a day, and were beaten using bats and stun rods if they refused to take orders, police said. The case has been handed over to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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