President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday on Armed Forces Day urged Taiwanese to show support for the military and protect the nation together.
“Armed Forces Day is only one day, but our soldiers protect the country 365 days a year, day and night, without holidays,” Tsai wrote on Facebook, as she invited Taiwanese to express their gratitude to military personnel.
She said that the national defense budget for next year is more than NT$606.8 billion (US$19.05 billion), a historical high.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
The environment on military bases is continuously improving, and more than 60,000 soldiers are expected to have more comfortable living quarters by the end of next year, she said.
Taiwan is enhancing military training and bolstering its reserve forces to achieve defense autonomy, to show the world the nation’s determination to protect democracy and freedom, she said.
“Our country is stronger because of the military’s devotion,” she wrote. “Let us thank the military for their efforts and be their backup, working together to protect our country.”
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate in next year’s election, also expressed his gratitude to the military in a Facebook post, writing that their sacrifice ensures Taiwanese can live in peace.
“The armed forces are the basis of national security, so giving the military our biggest support is the government’s responsibility,” he wrote.
“Taiwan is on the front line of democracy’s stand against authoritarianism, and the armed forces are at the front line of protecting peace in the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “As the world is closely watching the state of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, we should stand in unity against external threats, and become a strong backup for our military.”
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, wrote on Facebook that he respects those who serve in the military and Taiwanese should support the armed forces.
“Maintaining cross-strait peace and stability, and avoiding war are the biggest hopes of Taiwanese and the armed forces, but under the administration of the DPP in the past few years, the scale between war and peace is tilting toward the risk of a fierce battle, which is a concern for Taiwanese and the armed forces, as well as the world,” he wrote.
While Taiwan must enhance its national defense capabilities, but as the government has emphasized purchasing new weapons and equipment, it has forgotten about those who serve in the military, as they determine the nation’s military strength.
He said that if elected president, he would raise military wages, and review the military pension and promotion mechanisms.
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) wrote on Facebook that the armed forces are Taiwan’s lifeline, adding that the national defense budget should be at least 3 percent of GDP.
He wrote that the military budget should be considered in three parts: personnel, operations and investment, adding that financial discipline should be accomplished through an item-by-item review of by the legislature.
As automated and “intelligent” weapon systems are an irreversible trend, the government should revise its labor-intensive strategies and add new technologies to training programs to build a modern military, Ko said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), who has announced that he would run as an independent presidential candidate, wrote on Facebook that he served in the air force in Kinmen County when China would shell the county’s main island.
Although the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, during which China fired more than 470,000 shells at Kinmen over 44 days, ended in 1958, China continued to intermittently shell Kinmen until 1979.
Gou said that people who lived through that period of time would not want the same experience for the next generation.
Taiwan must prepare for war, but not be afraid of it, and keep their faith as they pursue peace, he said.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
RSS