Academics and social activists spoke out yesterday at a forum held by the Democracy Advancement Alliance (DAA) in Taipei, saying that the Cabinet's plan to spend NT$610.8 billion (US$18.23 billion) on arms from the US is a dangerous step towards a debilitating arms race with China.
The special budget of NT$610.8 billion (US$18.25 billion) was approved by the Cabinet earlier this month for the purchase of arms from the US.
The bill, due for review in the legislature, says that the money will be spent over 15 years.
Although some forum members said that the government's actions were an over-reaction to a Chinese "military bluff," others emphasized that regardless of the strength of the threat, Taiwan could not hope to win any arms race with China.
Panelists drew parallels to the 1980s arms race between US and the former Soviet Union, saying that Taiwan had neither the funds nor ability to sustain a protracted arsenal competition with China.
"Historical example shows us that arms races are never ending," said Hsu Cho-yun (
During the cold-war, then US President Ronald Reagan embarked on an arms race with the Soviet Union, driving the Soviet economy to ruin.
Panelists questioned how much spending would be enough in Taiwan's case.
"Presently, the government is reacting to some 600 missiles pointed in our direction from Fujian Province with an arms spending package of NT$610 billion," said Yang Kai-huang (楊開煌), president of the Mainland China Studies Association and a professor at National Dong Hwa University.
"How much should we spend, then, on military arms if they point further missiles at us from Nanking? How much if they point all of their missiles at us?"
The group criticized President Chen Shui-bian (
"Is this huge amount of money being spent for the protection of Taiwan, or is it for the protection of Taiwan-American relations?" panelists asked.
This whole situation is a joke -- the US must think that we are suckers," said former independent legislator and Taipei National University of the Arts professor Chu Hui-liang (
The arms spending package may also be against the public will.
"I'm worried about the progress of democracy in Taiwan," Chu said. "The public already made its will clear during the March 20th referendum. The Chen administration is overstepping its boundaries with the arms budget that it has decided on without first engaging in any public discussion," he said, referring to the failure of the referendum on an anti-missile system purchase this March.
Panelists also blasted the government for earmarking so much of the nation's resources for arms purchases when there were many other domestic issues that needed financing, such as education and environmental reform.
The DAA and social activists said that they would battle the arms purchase by increasing public awareness and discussion about the budget.
They aim to ask legislators to clarify their stance on the budget and a possible referendum on the topic to the people and called on opposition parties to stand with the people on this matter.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
RSS