The statue of the sea goddess Matsu from Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County’s Tongsiao Township arrives at Chaotian Temple in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township yesterday during the nine-day Baishatun Matsu Pilgrimage. More than 120,000 people saw Matsu arrive at the destination of the round-trip pilgrimage, which has been held annually for more than two centuries.
Photo courtesy of Beigang Chaotian Temple
The US plans to deploy thousands of drones in the Taiwan Strait in an operation called “Hellscape” to ensure that any attempt by China to invade Taiwan does not succeed, US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo told the Washington Post. In an article published on Monday, columnist Josh Rogin quoted Paparo as saying from the sidelines of the recent Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore that the “Hellscape” strategy would involve deploying thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation, Washington and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was devised to deter
CHINESE THREAT: Twenty-two military aircraft and vessels were detected around Taiwan over 24 hours, including a drone that flew as close as 80km to Oluanpi China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday said that the Chinese man who drove a motorboat into a strategic river mouth in Taiwan on Sunday was acting on his own and would be punished upon his return to China. However, the National Security Bureau said it would not exclude any possibilities regarding the man’s motivations, including the Chinese government’s involvement. The man has been identified as a 60-year-old former Chinese navy captain surnamed Ruan (阮). Coast guard personnel on Sunday arrested Ruan in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) after his boat entered Tamsui River (淡水河). The boat was detected off the coast of
SHIN KONG SHENANIGANS: Eugene Wu is the father of Cynthia Wu, who was the TPP’s vice presidential candidate alongside Chairman Ko-Wen-je in January’s election Former Shin Kong Life Insurance Co chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) and several other company executives are being investigated for alleged embezzlement and fraud resulting in corporate financial losses of about NT$150 million (US$4.63 million), New Taipei City prosecutors said yesterday. After being summoned to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning, Wu was listed as among 17 suspects facing charges of aggravated breach of trust, embezzlement and breaches of the Insurance Act (保險法). Wu was released on bail of NT$100 million yesterday. The case has received much attention with Eugene Wu being the eldest son of Wu Ho-su (吳火獅), who founded Shin
REPORT: In a number of cases, Taiwanese have been detained or interrogated, the MAC said, while warning that Chinese authorities can from next month confiscate cellphones Taiwanese who are traveling to China for religious, business or other non-political purposes can all be interrogated by Chinese national security officers due to new national security laws, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a recent report. Starting next month, Taiwanese could also be asked to hand over their mobile phones and electronic devices for national security inspections when visiting China, the council said. Beijing has introduced a series of laws that were designed to impose heavier sanctions on people who are considered enemies of the state. An amendment to China’s Anti-Espionage Law, which took effect in July last year, expanded