MILITARY
Koo outlines RTX refund
The amount that US defense contractor RTX Corp overcharged Taiwan for weapons would be fully compensated, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday, reiterating a ministry statement from a day earlier. The overpricing case involving RTX — formerly known as Raytheon — was voluntarily investigated by US authorities to crack down on improprieties in the US arms sales system, Koo said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting. After US authorities informed Taiwan of the investigation’s results, judicial proceedings began and should result in the amount of the overcharges being returned to Taiwan, he said. Asked about the amount of funds involved, whether the overcharged funds would be fully returned and when the US notified Taiwan of the case, Koo said all of the money would be returned, but he declined to provide further details on the other questions. However, he did say that the major sale on which the case is based occurred in 2013 and that because the case involved other countries as well, Taiwan benchmarked the prices with the other parties. Yi Media on Tuesday reported that US arms sales to Taiwan might involve “international fraud.” Koo said Yi Media’s report portrayed Taiwan as being “a person taken advantage of.” Such a description was part of an effort to support an “America skepticism theory” that does not reflect reality, he said.
Photo: Lin Che-yuan, Taipei Times
ISRAEL
Office helps duo leave
Taiwan’s representative office in Israel said it helped two Taiwanese leave the country by land on Thursday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The office said it received a telephone call on Wednesday from two Taiwanese who were visiting Israel and wanted to leave, but were unable to due to flight cancelations following Iranian airstrikes. The office promptly arranged a vehicle to help the two leave Israel, it said. The duo arrived in Jordan earlier on Thursday and were waiting for a flight back to Taiwan, it said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously said that as of late August there were 266 Taiwanese in Israel. Meanwhile, the ministry said that Taiwan’s representative office in Jordan, which is also responsible for matters in Lebanon, has reported that one Taiwanese student previously in Lebanon left the Middle Eastern country on a Chinese-government-arranged cargo ship late last month, the ministry said. There are five Taiwanese in Lebanon, the ministry said. Three have informed the office that they would return to Taiwan early this month, it added. The Jordan office would continue to keep in touch with the five remaining in Lebanon to offer assistance should they need any, the ministry said.
CRIME
Cannabis suspects indicted
Ten people, including two brothers who made a living by producing tea, have been indicted for growing cannabis in Nantou County, Taichung police told a news conference on Thursday. Taichung police said that the brothers, identified by their surname, Lin (林), as well as eight others, were arrested in June and their cannabis-growing operation smashed. Police said that they received a tip-off that the Lins had allegedly started growing cannabis at their home in Lugu Township (鹿谷) earlier this year. During a raid of the residence, 51 cannabis plants, as well as tools and equipment for producing the illegal drug, were seized, police said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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