President William Lai, right, presents a presidential commendation to Huang Chung-heng, elder brother of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp chairman Frank Huang, at a memorial service in Taipei yesterday in recognition of the pioneer who helped develop Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Frank Huang passed away on July 31.
Photo courtesy of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp
The first two F-16V Block 70 jets Taiwan purchased from the US were spotted unexpectedly turning back after departing from Hawaii yesterday, potentially further delaying delivery of the aircraft. Taiwan has purchased 66 of the F-16 C/D Block 70 jets to be deployed at Chihhang Air Base (志航基地) in Taitung County and operated by the air force's 7th Tactical Fighter Wing to defend Taiwan’s eastern region. Two single-seat jets, bearing serial No. 6727 and 6728, were spotted taking off from Hickam Field in Hawaii yesterday, observers said. Based on the precedent set during the delivery of Taiwan's older F-16 Block 20s, the new
Taiwan’s growing defense preparations might be sending a stronger signal to the US than to Beijing, highlighting the need for Taipei to tailor its deterrence efforts to different audiences, a US security academic said yesterday. Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies fellow Oriana Skylar Mastro made the comment during a Taipei Security Dialogue panel examining lessons Taiwan could draw from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Mastro said she was impressed by Taiwan’s increased defense spending, emphasis on asymmetric capabilities and efforts to prepare society for conflict, but questioned whom those initiatives were influencing. She said when she asked
SIZE MATTERS: Large ships are politically attractive as visible symbols of national defense, but small surface combatants are more likely to survive an initial strike Taiwan needs to restructure its naval fleet from focusing on large warships, which are “sitting ducks” for China’s advanced tracking technology, to smaller, stealthy corvettes that are harder to detect but retain sufficient firepower to deter a Chinese invasion, a Taiwanese academic and a former US military commander said in an article published on Friday in the journal Foreign Affairs. Taiwan does not need a fleet capable of competing with the Chinese navy for traditional control of the Taiwan Strait, but rather “sea denial” capabilities that would prevent China from freely using the waterway, Taiwanese aerospace and security expert Holmes Liao
EVA Airways Corp is to raise excess baggage fees and revise other international baggage charges beginning on Sept. 29, citing higher fuel prices and rising global operating costs amid economic and geopolitical pressures. The changes would apply to international flights with travel dates on or after Sept. 29, the Taiwanese carrier said in a statement on its Web site. The revised baggage policy covers excess baggage, prepaid excess baggage, overweight and oversized baggage fees. It also covers updated pricing rules, and fees for transporting pets and sports equipment. Under the new rates, excess baggage fees would increase by between US$20 and US$90 per
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