The government is to step up countermeasures against spying and infiltration next year amid increased national security threats from China, the Executive Yuan said yesterday in a policy plan for next year that focuses largely on threats from Chinese “united front” warfare and the government’s response strategies.
The Cabinet would promote President William Lai’s (賴清德) 17 strategies aimed at countering Beijing’s influence operations, and boost the national defense budget to 3 percent of GDP, it said yesterday.
National security laws would be amended to pre-empt China’s “united front” infiltration and cognitive warfare, and cooperation with Taiwan-friendly countries in high-tech industrial developments would be bolstered to build a global democratic supply chain, it said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Action plans for collaborations with allied countries would be formulated to convey Taiwanese’s will and a societal consensus opposing annexation by China, thereby counteracting Beijing’s attempts to downgrade or destroy Taiwan’s sovereign status in the international community, it said.
In terms of national defense, the Cabinet said it would use its resources to develop asymmetric warfare capabilities, enhance defense resilience, bolster the reserve force and improve the nation’s capacity in addressing “gray zone” intrusion based on the “resolute defense, multi-domain deterrence” strategy.
The training of the armed forces would follow a combat-oriented, joint-operations approach to enhance their capabilities in preparatory deployment, joint anti-amphibious operations, littoral and landing beach combat, deep defense and sustained operations, it said.
Arms and ammunition would be acquired through manufacturing, or commercial or military procurement based on joint operational needs, it added.
A certification and safety management system at the national defense level would be set up to support the development of a comprehensive supply chain for the national defense industry to achieve defense independence, the Cabinet said.
The government would continue to enhance Taiwan-US ties and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation, it said, adding that it would also explore military exchanges with other pro-Taiwan countries through higher-level policy integration, military affairs reform and national defense industry developments.
Resources from central and local governments would be mobilized and used to invest in reinforcing whole-of-society defense resilience, it added.
The Executive Yuan said China’s actions against Taiwan should be carefully addressed and democratic defense resilience should be enhanced to steadily promote cross-strait exchanges, it said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS