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.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
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